Audubon the Naturalist (Vol. II of II) - A History of his Life and Time

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Title: Audubon the Naturalist (Vol. II of II) - A History of his Life and Time
Author: Herrick, Francis Hobart
Language: English
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Transcriber's Note:

Obvious typographical errors in the editor's text have been
corrected. Inconsistent or incorrect accents, spelling,
capitalization, and punctuation in the original documents and quotes
were left as printed.

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

On page 28, "aimable" should possibly be "amiable".
On page 40, "as taken umbrage" should possibly be "has taken
umbrage".
On page 58, "Chamley, of New Castle" should possibly be "Charnley
of Newcastle".
On page 100, "Mr. A." should possibly be "Mrs. A".
On page 233 "youself" should possibly be "yourself".
On page 418 "pp. 197*-204*" should possibly not have asterisks.
"£##" and "##£" are used interchangeably (with and without spacing.)
The same is true for "$##" and "##$".
"Major Glassel" (page 7) and "Major Classel" (page 24) appear to
be the same person.

Some references in the Index are incorrect.

No entry exists for "Coral snake".
The entry for "Audubon parentage and early names" is missing a
page reference.

AUDUBON
THE
NATURALIST

[Illustration: John J. Audubon

AFTER PORTRAIT BY GEORGE P. A. HEALY, 1838; ORIGINAL IN POSSESSION
OF THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY.]

AUDUBON
THE
NATURALIST

A HISTORY OF HIS LIFE AND TIME

BY
FRANCIS HOBART HERRICK, Ph.D., Sc.D.

PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY IN WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY;
AUTHOR OF "THE HOME LIFE OF WILD BIRDS," ETC.

IN TWO VOLUMES
ILLUSTRATED

[Illustration]

VOLUME II

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
NEW YORK LONDON
1917

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS OF VOLUME II

CHAPTER XXVI

EXPLORATIONS IN FLORIDA AND THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

PAGE

Obituary published in London on day of his arrival in
New York—Assistance from the Government—John Bachman
becomes his friend—Winter in Charleston—His folios
as gifts—To Florida with two assistants—Letters to
Featherstonhaugh—St. Augustine—Misadventures in the
mud of East Florida—Audubon on Florida's future—At the
sources of the St. John's—Aboard the _Marion_—Return
from Key West—A merchant of Savannah—Disbanding of party
at Charleston 1

CHAPTER XXVII

EASTERN VISIT AND EXPLORATIONS IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC

Bachman's success as a canvasser—Boston visit—Journey to
Portland—Ascent of the St. John's—Return overland—Victor
Audubon becomes his father's agent—Winter in Boston—The
Golden Eagle—Stricken with illness—Expedition to
Labrador planned—American support—Sails from Eastport
with five assistants—Discoveries and adventures on the
Labrador—Safe return—Another winter in Charleston—Sued
for old debts—Experience with vultures—Advice and
instruction to a son—Working habits—Return to England 26

CHAPTER XXVIII

THORNS ON THE ROSE

Contributions to magazines—Attacked in
Philadelphia—Statement to Sully—The rattlesnake
episode—Behavior of a Philadelphia editor—Mistaken
identity in account of the reptile—Lesson of
the serpent's tooth—Audubon's long lost lily
rediscovered—"Nosarians and Anti-Nosarians"—Bachman and
Audubon on vultures—Aim of the critics—Authorship in
the _Biography_—His most persistent heckler—Pitfall of
analogy 67

CHAPTER XXIX

SIDELIGHTS ON AUDUBON AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES

What was a Quinarian?—Controversy over the authorship
of the _Ornithological Biography_—Audubon's quaint
proposal—Swainson's reply—Friendship suffers a
check—Species-mongers—Hitting at one over the
shoulders of another—Swainson as a biographer—His
career—Bonaparte's grievance—A fortune in
ornithology—Labors of John Gould and his relations with
Audubon—The freemasonry of naturalists 93

CHAPTER XXX

AUDUBON AND MACGILLIVRAY

In London once more—MacGillivray's assistance
continued—Return to Edinburgh—MacGillivray's character
and accomplishments—Audubon's acknowledgments—Tributes
of "Christopher North"—Results of overwork—Fusillades
from "Walton Hall"—Progress of the large plates 125

CHAPTER XXXI

THIRD AMERICAN TOUR, 1836-1837

In New York harbor—Collections from the Far
West—Audubon's efforts to secure them—Return to
Boston—Friendship of Daniel Webster—Renewed efforts to
obtain the Nuttall-Townsend collection—Expedition to the
west coast of Florida—Deferred governmental aid—Another
winter with Bachman—Overland journey to New Orleans—On
board the _Crusader_—Mistaken for pirates—With Harris
and his son explores the Gulf coast—The Republic of
Texas—Visit to its capital and president—Meeting in
Charleston—Marriage of his son—Their return to England 146

CHAPTER XXXII

AUDUBON'S GREATEST TRIUMPH

Extension of his work—Financial panic and revolt of
patrons—New western collections—His "book of Nature"
completed—Work on the letterpress in Edinburgh—Vacation
in the Highlands—Commissions to Harris—Parting
address to the reader—Dissolution of the Havell
engraving establishment—The residuum of _The Birds of
America_—Robert Havell, engraver, and his family—Lizars'
first edition and the Havell reissues of plates—Brief
manual for collectors—Appreciations—Total edition of
_The Birds of America_—Past and present prices—The
Rothschild incident 168

CHAPTER XXXIII

NEW ENTERPRISES AND LIFE AT "MINNIE'S LAND"

Settlement in New York—The _Birds_ in miniature,
and work on the _Quadrupeds_—Marriage of Victor
Audubon—Coöperation of Bachman in the _Quadrupeds_
secured—Prospectuses—History of the octavo edition
of the _Birds_—Baird's enthusiasm and efficient
aid—Parkman's Wren—Baird's visit to Audubon in New
York—"Look out for Martens," and wildcats—New home on
the Hudson—Godwin's pilgrimage to "Minnie's Land" in
1842 208

CHAPTER XXXIV

EXPEDITION TO THE UPPER MISSOURI

Ambitions at fifty-seven—Plans his last expedition
in the _rôle_ of naturalist—Credentials from public
men—Canvassing tour in Canada described—Baird's plans
to accompany Audubon west frustrated—Western expedition
begun—Ascent of the Missouri and Yellowstone—Discoveries
of new birds—A wilderness that howls—Buffalo
hunting—Passing of the great herds—Return from Fort
Union—Incident on the canal boat—Completion of the
octavo edition of the _Birds_ 239

CHAPTER XXXV

FINAL WORK DAYS

Painting the _Quadrupeds_—Assistance of Bachman and
Audubon's sons—Copper plates of the _Birds_ go through
the fire in New York—Audubon a spectator at the
ruins—Bachman's ultimatum—Success of the illustrations
of the _Quadrupeds_—Bachman's letterpress—Recommendation
of Baird—J. W. Audubon in London—Bachman's
assistants—His life and labors—Decline of Audubon's
powers—Dr. Brewer's visit—Audubon's last letters—His
death at "Minnie's Land" 261

CHAPTER XXXVI

AFTERWORD: AUDUBON'S FAMILY IN AMERICA

Bachman completes his text on the _Quadrupeds_—Victor
Audubon's success in canvassing—John Woodhouse
Audubon's family—New houses at "Minnie's Land"—Second
octavo edition of the _Birds_—Victor Audubon's illness
and death—Attempt to reissue _The Birds of America_
in America—The residual stock of this imperfect
edition—Death of John Woodhouse Audubon—His career
and work as an artist and field collector—Mrs. Audubon
resumes her old vocation—Fate of "Minnie's Land"—Death
of Mrs. Audubon—Her share in her husband's fame—Story
written on Audubon's original drawings—Fate of the
original copper plates of the _Birds_—A boy comes to the
rescue—"Minnie's Land" today—The "Cave"—A real "Audubon
Park" 291

APPENDIX I

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS

1. Copy of the original bill rendered by Doctor Sanson,
physician at Les Cayes, Santo Domingo, to Jean Audubon,
containing the only existing record of the birth of his
son, Jean Jacques Fougère Audubon, on April 26, 1785;
Les Cayes, December 29, 1783-October 19, 1785 314

1a. Translation of the Sanson Bill 315

2. Copy of the Act of Adoption of Fougère (John James
Audubon) and Muguet (Rosa Audubon), Nantes, March 7,
1794 328

3. Copy of the Act of Baptism of Jean Jacques Fougère
Audubon, Nantes, October 23, 1800 329

4. Copy of a bill of sale of Negroes rendered by
Monsieur Ollivier to Monsieur Audubon, Les Cayes, Santo
Domingo, 1785 330

5. Statement of Accounts of Messrs. Audubon, Lacroix,
Formon & Jacques in the purchase of Negroes from M. Th.
Johnston, Les Cayes, Santo Domingo, 1785 331

6. Copy of bill of sale of Negroes to Monsieur Audubon,
and a Statement of his account with Messrs. Lucas
Brothers & Constant, Les Cayes, Santo Domingo, August 7,
1785-June 9, 1788 334

7. Accounts of William Bakewell of "Fatland Ford"
as protégé of his future son-in-law, and as attorney
or agent for Audubon & Rozier, giving certain exact
indications of the naturalist's early movements and
personal relations, before and after finally leaving
"Mill Grove," January 4, 1805-April 9, 1810 336

8. Concerning a Power of Attorney issued by Lieutenant
Audubon and Anne Moynet Audubon to Ferdinand Rozier and
John Audubon, the Younger, at Couëron, France, in 1805;
parts in French translated by a Philadelphia notary;
signatures of original document authenticated by the
Mayor of Couëron, October 21, 1805; his attest of the
legality of Anne Moynet Audubon's signature at Couëron,
October 27, 1805; authentication of the signature of the
Mayor of Couëron by the Subprefect of Savenay, November
27, 1805; attest of the Subprefect's signature by the
Prefect 340

9. Articles of Association of Jean Audubon and Ferdinand
Rozier to govern their partnership in business; drawn up
at Nantes, March 23, 1806 344

9a. Translation of the Articles of Association of Jean
Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier 346

10. Power of Attorney issued by Lieutenant Jean Audubon,
Anne Moynet Audubon and Claude François Rozier, to their
respective sons, Jean Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier,
at Nantes, France, April 4, 1806, eight days before
the latter embarked to America to enter upon their
partnership in business 350

10a. Translation of the Power of Attorney issued by Jean
Audubon, Anne Moynet Audubon, and Claude François Rozier
to Jean Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier, April 4, 1806 351

11. Account current of John Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier
with the estate of Benjamin Bakewell, late commission
merchant in New York, showing their dealings and
standing with this house during the first sixteen months
of their business experience in the West. Covers the
period August 1, 1807, to December 13, 1808 354

11a. Final Account of Francis Dacosta, rendered July
25, 1807, to Lieutenant Jean Audubon, his partner in
the unfortunate mining enterprise at "Mill Grove"; later
contested and settled by arbitration 356

12. Quit Claim or Release given by John James Audubon to
Ferdinand Rozier on the Dissolution of their Partnership
in Business, at Sainte Geneviève, Upper Louisiana
(Missouri), April 6, 1811 359

13. Copy of a portion of the first Will of Lieutenant
Jean Audubon, Couëron, May 20, 1812 360

14. Copy of the second and last Will of Lieutenant Jean
Audubon, March 15, 1816 361

15. Copy of a portion of the first Will of Madame Anne
Moynet, wife of Lieutenant Audubon, December 4, 1814 363

16. Copy of a portion of the second Will of Madame Jean
Audubon, May 10, 1816 364

17. Copy of the third Will, "No. 169, of Madame Anne
Moynet, widow of M. Jean Audubon, living at his house
called "La Gerbetière," and situated near the village
of Port-Launay, not far from Couëron," December 26, 1819 366

18. Copy of a portion of the fourth and last will of
Madame Jean Audubon, living at the house of "The Turtle
Doves" ("Les Tourterelles"), at Couëron, July 16, 1821 367

19. Notice of the death of Lieutenant Jean Audubon, from
the official registry of Nantes, Nantes, February 19,
1818 369

20. Letter of Lieutenant Jean Audubon to Francis
Dacosta, his American agent and attorney, relating to
the conduct of his son, and to the lead mine at "Mill
Grove" farm, transliterated from photographic copy of
duplicate (Letter No. 4) in Jean Audubon's letter-book.
Nantes, March 10, 1805 370

21. Letters of John James Audubon to Claude François
Rozier, father, and to Ferdinand Rozier, son,
immediately preceding and following his active
partnership in business with the latter, 1807 and 1812 372

APPENDIX II

AUDUBON'S EARLY DATED DRAWINGS MADE IN FRANCE AND
AMERICA

Drawings now in the collections of Mr. Joseph Y.
Jeanes of Philadelphia, and formerly belonging to Mr.
Edward Harris, of Moorestown, New Jersey; of Mr. John
E. Thayer, Lancaster, Massachusetts, and of Harvard
University 375

APPENDIX III

"THE BIRDS OF AMERICA"

1. Final Lists of Subscribers to _The Birds of America_,
folio edition, as published by Audubon in 1839 380

2. Prospectus of _The Birds of America_, as issued
in 1828, when ten Numbers of the original folio were
engraved 386

3. Prospectus of the Second (partial) Edition of _The
Birds of America_, issued by John Woodhouse Audubon,
through Messrs. Trubner & Company, London, 1859 389

APPENDIX IV

Authentic Likenesses of Jean Jacques Fougère Audubon 392

APPENDIX V

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Containing a fully annotated list of Audubon's writings,
biographies, criticism, and Auduboniana 401

INDEX 457

ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME II

Audubon. After a portrait by George P. A. Healy, 1838.
Photogravure _Frontispiece_

PAGE

"Beechgrove," William Garrett Johnson's plantation house
near St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana,
where Mrs. Audubon lived and taught from 1827 to 1829
_Facing_ 6

John Bachman's house in Charleston, South Carolina _Facing_ 6

Early drawing in water color of the Carolina Parrot
on branch of the hickory, 1811, hitherto unpublished _Facing_ 20

John Bachman at thirty-two. After an engraving by
Charles C. Wright of a portrait by A. Fisher _Facing_ 32

Robert Havell at eighty-five. After a photograph taken
shortly before his death in 1878 _Facing_ 32

Letter of Dr. George Parkman to Audubon, May 25, 1833 43

Pileated Woodpeckers on the "Raccoon Grape," _The Birds
of America_, Plate CXI. After the original engraving by
Robert Havell, 1831. Color _Facing_ 46

Letter of Robert Havell to Audubon, June 15, 1833 51

John George Children _Facing_ 64

Edward Harris _Facing_ 64

John Bachman _Facing_ 72

George Ord _Facing_ 72

Samuel Latham Mitchell _Facing_ 72

Charles Waterton _Facing_ 72

Dr. Thomas Cooper, President of South Carolina College.
After a contemporary silhouette 78

Vindication of Audubon's representation of the fangs
of the southern rattlesnake as recurved at their tips.
Detail from _The Birds of America_, Plate XXI, and
photograph of the skull of a recent Florida specimen _Facing_ 80

Bluebirds on a stalk of the "great Mullein," _The Birds
of America_, Plate CXIII. After the original engraving
by Robert Havell, 1831. Color _Facing_ 100

William Swainson _Facing_ 118

Thomas Nuttall _Facing_ 118

Charles Lucien Bonaparte _Facing_ 118

Constantine Samuel Rafinesque _Facing_ 118

Audubon. After an engraving by H. B. Hall of a portrait
painted by Henry Inman in 1833 _Facing_ 126

Letter of William MacGillivray to Audubon, October 22,
1834 _Facing_ 131

Part of the original draft of Audubon's manuscript for
the Introduction to Volume II of the _Ornithological
Biography_, giving list of names of persons to whom
Audubon carried credentials on his first visit to London
in 1827 _Facing_ 133

Audubon's inscription in a copy of the _Ornithological
Biography_, which he presented to William MacGillivray
in 1839 _Facing_ 138

Early drawings of American birds, 1807-12, hitherto
unpublished: the Whippoorwill and the American Robin,
with details _Facing_ 144

Bust of Audubon by William Couper, in front and profile
views. After the original in the American Museum of
Natural History, New York _Facing_ 160

Life mask of Audubon, hitherto unpublished, in front
and profile views. After the original made by Robert
Havell in London, now in possession of the Museum of
Comparative Zoölogy of Harvard University _Facing_ 178

Canvas-backed Ducks, with distant view of the city of
Baltimore, Maryland, _The Birds of America_, Plate CCCI.
After the original engraving by Robert Havell, 1836.
Color _Facing_ 196

Victor Gifford Audubon _Facing_ 210

John Woodhouse Audubon _Facing_ 210

Title page of the paper covers in which parts of
the first American (octavo) edition of _The Birds of
America_ were originally issued 213

Audubon. After a portrait painted by John Woodhouse and
Victor Gifford Audubon about 1841 _Facing_ 226

"Minnie's Land," Audubon's home on the Hudson River, as
it appeared in 1865. After a lithograph in Valentine's
_Manual_ _Facing_ 236

"Minnie's Land," as it appears to-day from the river
front protected by the retaining wall of Riverside
Drive _Facing_ 236

Audubon, with gun, horse, and dog. After a painting by
John Woodhouse Audubon about 1841 _Facing_ 244

Letter of Edward Harris to Audubon, January 31, 1843 251

Drawings for _The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North
America_: the American or Canada porcupine and rabbits.
After the originals in water color in the American
Museum of Natural History, New York _Facing_ 264

Title page of Volume I of the English edition of the
text of _The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America_ 275

John W. Audubon's inscription in a copy of Volume I
of the text of the _Quadrupeds_ (English edition),
presented to John Edward Gray 280

Audubon. After an engraving by Nordheim of a
daguerreotype possibly earlier than 1849 _Facing_ 280

Audubon. After his last portrait, a daguerreotype made
in New York about 1850 _Facing_ 280

Letter of John Bachman to George Oates, November 7, 1846 282

Audubon's last (?) letter to Edward Harris, February 22,
1847 287

House formerly belonging to Victor Gifford Audubon, east
front, as it appears to-day _Facing_ 294

House formerly belonging to John Woodhouse Audubon,
south front, as it appears to-day _Facing_ 294

Lucy Bakewell Audubon. After a miniature painted by
Frederick Cruikshank in London, about 1831 _Facing_ 304

Lucy Bakewell Audubon. After an unpublished photograph
of 1871 _Facing_ 304

AUDUBON
THE
NATURALIST

SONNET

TO J. J. AUDUBON, ESQ., ON BEHOLDING HIS DRAWINGS.

Is there delight in Nature's solitudes,
Her dark green woods, and fragrant wilderness,
In scenes, where seldom human step intrudes,
And she is in her wildest, loveliest dress?
Is there delight in her uncultured flowers,
Each ripened bloom or bright unfolding dye,
Or in the tribes which animate her bowers,
And through her groves in living beauty fly?
Then, on thy canvas as they move and live,
While taste and genius guide the fair design,
And all the charms which Nature's works can give
With equal radiance in thy colours shine;
Amidst the praise thy country's sons extend,
The stranger's voice its warm applause shall blend.

J. E. R. [JANE ELIZABETH ROSCOE].

_The Winter's Wreath, 1832._

AUDUBON THE NATURALIST

CHAPTER XXVI

EXPLORATIONS IN FLORIDA AND THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

In the summer of 1831 Audubon felt that he must again return to America
and extend his researches to the north, south and west, as well as
begin a campaign for subscribers in the United States. His large folio
was now running into its second volume, and the first installment of
his text had been published; the time was favorable to his plans, and
he hoped to remain in the country two or three years.

For the second time the publication of his plates was entrusted to
friend Children, and with Mrs. Audubon he set sail for New York on
August 2, 1831. From the American metropolis he wrote to Joseph B. Kidd
on September 7 as follows:[1]

We landed on the 3d ... [of September] after a
remarkably fine passage of 33 days. In two days more I
proceed to the woods, and away from white man's tracks
and manners. I hope you are going on well with your
work.... I have a new subscriber here. The papers and
scientific journals (we have not many,) are singing
the praises of my work, and, God willing, I may yet
come out at the broad end of the horn; at all events,
I will either _break it or make a spoon_! I shot
sixteen birds on the passage, which I got through the
kind attention of our commander. I killed fifty more,
when the "Columbia" was going too fast to stop for the
purpose of picking them up. My young man is now busily
engaged in skinning, and killed a bag-full of warblers
yesterday ... prices of peaches, first quality, 75 cents
per bushel,—apples, half that price;—water melons are
dull of sale, as also cantelopes and nutmeg melons. Fish
alive in the markets, and, _vive la joie_, no taxes on
shooting or fishing."

What Audubon actually did was to proceed to Philadelphia, where Mrs.
Audubon left him to visit her sons in Louisville, and where he laid
his plans for exploring the Southern States, especially the islands and
eastern coast of the Florida peninsula. For this expedition he engaged
two assistants, one of whom was Henry Ward, the "young man" mentioned
above, an Englishman who had come with him to America as taxidermist,
while the other was George Lehman, a Swiss landscape painter whom he
seems to have found at Philadelphia. With them he soon started for
Washington to obtain assistance from the Government.

On the very day that Audubon landed in New York, there appeared in
the _London Literary Gazette_ a serio-comic notice under the title
of "Wilson the Ornithologist," who, it may be remembered, had died in
Philadelphia eighteen years before. Said the editor of the _Gazette_:

We observe with sorrow an account of the death and
burial of poor Wilson, somewhere in the state of
Philadelphia, even while the Edinburgh journals
are anticipating his return, laden with scientific
treasures. We have now before us No. 1 of his
Illustrations of American Ornithology, on a reduced
scale, to sort with Professor Jameson's edition—a pretty
and attractive publication. The coloured prints are
extremely correct and well done.

When on September 8 the Edinburgh _Caledonian Mercury_ had called
attention to this egregious blunder regarding Wilson, the _Gazette_
explained that his name had been confused with that of Audubon,
whose obituary presently appeared in its issue of October 29, the
editor remarking that this naturalist's death was equally, if not
more, to be deplored than that of Wilson. Captain Brown then sent
to the _Caledonian Mercury_ Audubon's letter to Kidd, quoted above,
which was written from New York four days after the naturalist's
death was announced in England. "What is the editor of the Literary
Gazette about," exclaimed a writer in the Edinburgh paper; "he first
resuscitates a man who has been dead 18 years, only to kill him again,
and then, by way of correcting his error, kills another, who is now
clearly proved to have been alive and well several days after the date
of his obituary in London."

As was often the case, Audubon's ambitious hopes for exploring the
continent far outran his means and powers of accomplishment. Colonel
John James Abert, whose counsel he sought in Washington at this time;
said:[2] "His plan is first to examine the peninsula of Florida; then
the regions west of the Mississippi, Mexico, and if possible penetrate
into California. He also contemplates crossing the Rocky Mountains and
pursuing the Columbia River to its mouth, and thinks that he will be
absent from us about two years." In November G. W. Featherstonhaugh,
the geologist, also made this announcement in his _Monthly American
Journal of Geology and Natural Science_:

We are authorized to state that information of the
progress of Mr. Audubon will be given, from time to
time, to the scientific world, in the pages of this
journal.

We are gratified in being able to state, that he was
received in the most cordial manner, at Washington, and
that the distinguished gentlemen in authority there,
have given him such letters to the military posts on the
frontiers, as will assure him the aid and protection
his personal safety may require. We anticipate the
most interesting reconnaisances, both geological and
zoölogical, from this enterprising naturalist, who is
accompanied by Mr. Lehman, as an assistant draftsman,
and by an assistant collector who came with him from
Europe.

The "distinguished gentlemen" at Washington who particularly aided
Audubon at this time, besides Colonel Abert, were Edward Everett,
Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Navy, and Lewis McLane, Secretary of
the Treasury. He was particularly anxious to obtain accommodation for
his party aboard a government vessel, but it was some time before a
suitable one was available. They left Washington about October 15,
1831, and went by steamer to Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia, where
the Governor, John Floyd, whom Audubon had known in his Kentucky
days, gave him numerous letters of introduction. At Charleston, their
next stopping-place, he had hardly begun work in the field when he
was sought out by the Rev. John Bachman, by inclination a naturalist
of the old school and by profession a Lutheran minister, who at once
took the whole party under his hospitable roof, where they remained
a month. Thus began a life-long and almost ideal friendship between
these two men, so unlike in character, in temperament and in training,
which was quite as important to the modest German-American divine
as to the impulsive Franco-American painter and student of birds. It
was Audubon's infectious enthusiasm which kindled to an ardent flame
that love of nature which was innate in Bachman, and which eventually
brought his name and work to the attention of the scientific world.

Audubon remained at Charleston with the Bachmans until November 15,
when the opportunity which they had awaited came suddenly, and they
sailed for St. Augustine, Florida, on the government schooner _Agnes_.
On that day Bachman wrote to Mrs. Audubon, in compliance "with a
request of your kind and worthy husband, who laid an injunction on me
this morning":[3]

The last has been one of the happiest months of my life.
I was an enthusiastic admirer of nature from my boyhood,
and fond of every branch of Natural History. Ornithology
is, as a science, pursued by very few persons—and by
none in this city. How gratifying was it, then, to
become acquainted with a man, who knew more about birds
than any man now living—and who, at the same time, was
communicative, intelligent, and amiable, to an extent
seldom found associated in the same individual. He has
convinced me that I was but a novice in the study; and
besides receiving many lessons from him in Ornithology,
he has taught me how much can be accomplished by a
single individual, who will unite enthusiasm with
industry. For the short month he remained with my
family, we were inseparable. We were engaged in talking
about Ornithology—in collecting birds—in seeing them
prepared, and in laying plans for the accomplishment of
that great work which he has undertaken. Time passed
rapidly away, and it seems but as yesterday since we
met, and now, alas! he is already separated from me—and
in all human probability we shall never meet again....
I need not inform you that Mr. Audubon was a general
favorite in our city. His gentlemanly deportment, his
travels and experience, his information and general
talents, caused him to be sought after by all. But your
husband knew that the great objects before him required
his unremitted attention, and he was obliged to deny
himself to his friends, on many occasions, and devoted
to them only his evenings.

There seems quite a blank, in my house, since he has
gone, for we looked on him as one of our family. He
taught my sister, Maria, to draw birds; and she has now
such a passion for it, that whilst I am writing, she
is drawing a Bittern, put up for her at daylight by Mr.
Audubon.

[Illustration: "BEECHGROVE," WILLIAM GARRETT JOHNSON'S PLANTATION
HOUSE IN WEST FELICIANA PARISH, LOUISIANA, WHERE MRS. AUDUBON
LIVED AND TAUGHT FOR TWO YEARS, 1827-1829.

After a photograph by Mr. Stanley Clisby Arthur, 1916.]

[Illustration: JOHN BACHMAN'S HOUSE IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

After a photograph in possession of Mr. Ruthven Deane.]

On December 23 Bachman wrote to Audubon: "Your visit to me gave me
new life, induced me to go carefully over my favorite study, and
made me and my family happy." His sister-in-law, Miss Maria Martin,
who possessed considerable artistic talent, became one of Audubon's
enthusiastic helpers, and not only drew birds for him but painted many
of the flowers and insects which were later used for the embellishment
of his plates. John Bachman's serious contributions to natural history
also date from this visit. To repay him and his family for their
hospitality, Audubon presented them with the first volume of _The Birds
of America_, but the folio was not received until some time later; he
was referring to this when he wrote to Bachman, just before sailing
from New York, on April 5, 1834, and asked him to accept "the superbly
bound book" from "your old Friend, in part atonement for the troubles
I have given you, and the leatherings you may yet receive at my hands
at chess." In a letter to Miss Martin, written also from New York on
the following day, he said: "The Great Volume which Maj. Glassel did
fortunately return into your hands, I give with all my heart to my
valued friends, the Bachmans, and shall try to furnish them the sequel
in like binding."[4]

Audubon scattered detached plates and numbers of his large work freely
among his friends, and sometimes spoke of a gift of the whole. The
costly nature of such a present in most cases, no doubt, led to a
change of mind if not of heart, but not in all, for a number of his
presentation copies still exist. One was given to David Eckley[5] of
Boston, a noted sportsman who had aided Audubon in collecting materials
for his work. In a letter written at Charleston, January 1, 1837, to
young Thomas M. Brewer, Audubon said: "Please to call on my good friend
David Eckley, Esq., present to him and to his family my very best
regards, and ask of him whether he has collected any hawks or owls for
me. If so, take them from him, and place them in the general receptacle
of 'pale-faced rum.'" Another copy is said to be in possession of the
Public Library of Manchester, England, and to have been bequeathed to
that institution by the Earl of Crawford. A complete set of the _Birds_
was also presented to his friends, the Rathbones of Liverpool, and
is still in possession of the family.

We shall now return to our narrative and fulfill our promise of
reproducing Audubon's own account of his journey from Richmond to
Florida:[6]

_Audubon to G. W. Featherstonhaugh_

I am now seated in earnest to give you an unceremonious
summary of my proceedings up to this time, since we
left Richmond, in Virginia. As a geologist, I venture
to suppose you would have been but indifferently
amused, if you had been with us in our journey from
this latter place to Charleston, in South Carolina; and
as an ornithologist, I cannot boast of the enjoyment I
found; poor coaches, dragged through immense, deserted
pine forests, miserable fare, and neither birds
nor quadrupeds to be seen. We at length approached
Charleston, and the view of that city from across the
bay was hailed by our party with unfeigned delight.
Charmed, as we were, with having terminated our dreary
journey, it did not occur to us to anticipate the
extraordinary hospitality which awaited us there, and
which led to a residence of a few of the happiest weeks
I ever passed.

I had passed but one night in the city, when I was
presented to the Rev. Mr. ——. This benevolent man,
whom I am proud to call my friend would not suffer
the "American Woodsman" to repose any where but under
his roof; and not him alone—all his assistants too.
When I tell you that he was an old friend of Alexander
Wilson, that he shoots well, is an ornithologist, a
philosophical naturalist, and that during the time we
enjoyed his hospitality, he took us all over the country
with his carriages and servants, in search of specimens,
and that he was every thing a kind brother could be to
me, you may suppose that it is with great sincerity I
say, and ever shall say, God bless him! When I first
saw this excellent man, he was on horseback, but upon my
being named to him, he leaped from his saddle, suffered
his horse to stand at liberty, and gave me his hand
with a pressure of cordiality that electrified me. I
saw in his eyes that all he said was good and true; and
although he spoke of my labours in terms far exceeding
what is due to them, I listened to him pretty well
assured that he did not intend me to play the part of
Gil Blas over again; for myself, my assistants, George
Lehman and Henry Ward, were removed in a jiffy to his
own mansion, introduced to the family, and at work the
very next morning.

Although the weather was "shockingly hot," they prepared three hundred
specimens, embracing about sixty land and water birds, and sent all
the "pickled specimens to our mutual friend H——" [Dr. Harlan, of
Philadelphia] for safe keeping until their return.

I jumped at once into my wood-hunting habits. All
hands of us were up before day-break, and soon at work,
either in the way of shooting, taking views, or drawing
birds; after sunset—scribbling in our journals....
In the early part of November the alligators had gone
into their winter quarters; the migratory birds were
passing swiftly on towards the south, although we had
had no frost. The planters considered the country as
still unhealthy, and resorted to the city at night. If
I had been governed by the practice and advice of many,
I should not have put a foot in the mud, either salted
or fresh; but difficulties of this character must be
disregarded by the American woodsman, while success, or
the hope of it, is before him.

It is impossible to do justice to the generous feelings
of the Charlestonians, or to their extreme kindness
towards me. Many of the gentlemen took the greatest
interest in my pursuits; one, Dr. ——, presented me with
an excellent New Foundland dog, and other valuable
memorials of his regard. Another, Dr. ——, gave me a
collection of shells, from the adjacent waters. The
ladies presented me with a capital supply of snuff.[7]
Desirous of going to Cole's Island, distant about 25
or 30 miles, to look after some marine birds, a boat,
four hands and a pilot, were immediately offered to me,
free of all expense, with the liberty to detain them as
long as was agreeable to me. It is not possible for me
to express properly the sense I feel of the kindness I
received from that warm-hearted and intelligent people.

And now, as you have good naturedly listened to what
I have felt bound to say on the score of gratitude, I
will tell you what I know you are impatient to come
to—something about my proceedings at Cole's Island.
It lies south from Charleston about 25 or 30 miles;
there we arrived and encamped for the night: certain
beef-steaks we brought with us we roasted upon sticks,
and the adjacent shore provided us with excellent
oysters: gaiety, good appetites, and our hearts all
right, made the time pass pleasantly, and it was with
some reluctance we spread our blankets, and arranged
the fire preparatory to going to rest. Nothing is
more valuable to a naturalist, and particularly to
an ornithologist, than the first hours of the day;
therefore, long ere the sun had glowed over the broad
sea that lay before our camp, we had reached another
island where birds resort to roost by thousands; but,
notwithstanding these multitudes, not a new species did
we procure. We, however, had the pleasure of observing
two noble "birds of Washington,"[8] sailing majestically
over the broad watery face.

But it was necessary to bring my stay in Charleston
to a close, and it was somewhat difficult too. My
friends had increased in number; they were in the habit
of accompanying me in my shooting excursions; I was
becoming very much attached to them; invitations poured
in from various parts of the country; and I really
believe that had I been willing, we might have remained
there and in the neighborhood, if not all our lives, at
least as long as would have caused a rare scarcity of
the feathered tribes, in that portion of the Carolinas.
But my mind was among the birds farther south,—the
Floridas, Red River, the Arkansas, that almost unknown
country, California, and the Pacific ocean. I felt
myself drawn to the untried scenes of those countries,
and it was necessary to tear myself away from the
kindest friends.

We embarked on the schooner Agnes; the wind was fair,
and we hoisted all sails for the Floridas. Our passage
was not short; the wind changed, and we put back into
St. Simon's Island Bay. This was one of the few put
backs in life of a fortunate kind for me. I made for the
shore, met a gentleman on the beach, presented him my
card, and was immediately invited to dinner. I visited
his gardens, got into such agreeable conversation and
quarters, that I was fain to think that I had landed on
some one of those fairy islands said to have existed
in the golden age. But this was not all; the owner of
this hospitable mansion pressed me to stay a month with
him, and subscribed to my Birds of America in the most
gentlemanly manner. This was T. B. K., Esq.[9] But the
wind shifted; I was sent for, and our voyage to St.
Augustine resumed.

St. Augustine, whatever it may have been, is far from
being a flourishing place now. It lies at the bottom of
a bay, extremely difficult of access, even for vessels
of light draft, which seldom reach the "city" in less
than a day. I cannot say much for the market, nor for
the circumjacent country. Oranges and plenty of good
fish seem to contribute the wealth of the place. Sands,
poor pine forests, and impenetrable thickets of cactus
and palmettos form the undergrowth. Birds are rare,
and very shy; and with all our exertions, we have not
collected one hundred skins in a fortnight that we have
been here. I have received many kind attentions, and
numerous invitations to visit plantations, on our way to
the south, where I shall direct my steps in a few days.
I have drawn seventeen species, among which one _mongrel
vulture_, which I think will prove new. You will see it,
I hope, very soon.

I will give you a sketch of our manner of passing the
time. We are up before day, and our toilette is soon
made. If the day is to be spent at drawing, Lehman and
I take a walk, and Ward, his gun, dog, and basket,
returning when hungry or fatigued, or both. We draw
uninterruptedly till dusk, after which, another walk,
then write up journals, and retire to rest early. When
we have nothing on hand to draw, the guns are cleaned
over night, a basket of bread and cheese, a bottle
with old whiskey, and some water, is prepared. We get
into a boat, and after an hour of hard rowing, we find
ourselves in the middle of most extensive marshes, as
far as the eye can reach. The boat is anchored, and
we go wading through mud and water, amid myriads of
sand-flies and mosquitoes, shooting here and there a
bird, or squatting down on our hams for half an hour,
to observe the ways of the beautiful beings we are
in pursuit of. This is the way in which we spend the
day. At the approach of evening, the cranes, herons,
pelicans, curlews, and the trains of blackbirds are
passing high over our heads, to their roosting places;
then we also return to ours. If some species are
to draw the next day, and the weather is warm, they
are _outlined_ that same evening, to save them from
incipient putridity. I have ascertained that _feathers_
lose their brilliancy almost as rapidly as flesh or
skin itself, and am of opinion that a bird alive is 75
per cent more rich in colours than twenty-four hours
after its death; we therefore skin those first which
have been first killed, and the same evening. All this,
added to our other avocations, brings us into the night
pretty well fatigued. Such, my dear friend, is the life
of an active naturalist; and such, in my opinion, it
ought to be. It is nonsense ever to hope to see in the
closet what is only to be perceived—as far as the laws,
arrangements and beauties of ornithological nature is
concerned,—by that devotion of time, opportunities, and
action, to which I have consecrated my life, not without
hope that science may benefit by my labours.

As to geology, my dear Friend, you know as well as
myself, that I am not in the country for that. The
instructions you gave me are very valuable, and I
shall be vigilant. The aspect of the country will soon
begin to change, and as I proceed, I will write to
you about all we see and do.... Do not be afraid of
my safety; I take a reasonable care of my health and
life. I know how to guard against real difficulties,
and I have no time to attend to that worst of all kinds
of difficulties,—imaginary ones. Circumstances never
within my control, threw me upon my own resources, at
a very early period of my life. I have grown up in the
school of adversity, and am not an unprofitable scholar
there, having learnt to be satisfied with providing
for my family and myself by my own exertions. The life
I lead is my vocation, full of smooth and rough paths,
like every vocation which men variously try. My physical
constitution has always been good, and the fine flow of
spirits I have, has often greatly assisted me in some of
the most trying passages of my life. I know I am engaged
in an arduous undertaking; but if I live to complete it,
I will offer to my country a beautiful monument of the
varied splendour of American nature, and of my devotion
to American ornithology.

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.

Ther., this day, at 2 p. m.,
78° Fahr.

On the following day, December 8, 1831, Audubon sent the following
request to Dr. Harlan of Philadelphia: "I wish you also to send me—to
Key West—, 20 more pounds of powdered arsenic from Friend Wetherell's
shop,[10] and also a double barelled gun of usual length, as good
as you can procure for 30 dollars; probably a second hand one may be
procured; it must be _percussion_ and, if possible, _back action_." Dr.
Richard Harlan, who often transmitted to Mrs. Audubon any news which
came direct from her husband, wrote to her on December 10, 1831, as
follows:[11]

I have just recd a letter from Mr Aud—dated St.
Augustine Nov. 24th they enjoy health amidst their
fatiguing avocations—has obtained another subscriber,
living on St. Simons island named Tho. Butler King—to
whom I am to send the work as soon as the Copies
exported arrive from London—he has good expectations
of adding some new birds to his list—have you seen the
Sonnet addressed to Mr Aud. in the "Wreath" a London
annual for 1832?—under the signature of J. E. R?—our
newspapers announce the arrival, departure & progress of
Mr Audubon, as if he was an _Embassador_—and so he is,
one of Natures——

The winter season at St. Augustine proved unfavorable for the
naturalist's work, and he anxiously awaited the coming of the
government vessel, the _Spark_, to the commander of which he bore
letters from Washington. After spending about three weeks in the
neighborhood of the city, the party proceeded through the inlet
which divides Anastasia Island from the mainland, to the plantation
of General Hernandez, thirty-five miles distant, where they were
entertained for ten days. On Christmas morning they set out afoot for
the plantation of John Bulow, of Bulowville, fifteen miles away. To
follow the naturalist's account:

A wagon was sent for our baggage and horses for
ourselves were offered at the same time, but it was not
my desire to give unnecessary trouble, and above all
upon an occasion when I was glad to see the country in
as much detail as possible, and anxious to avail myself
of every occasion to get new birds.

During the whole long stay with Mr. Bulow, there was no
abatement of his kindness, or his unremitted efforts
to make me comfortable, and to promote my researches.
I shall ever feel grateful to one of the most deserving
and generous of men.

On December 28 their host proposed that they should descend the Halifax
River in search of new and valuable birds to a point about forty miles
from that place and eighty miles from St. Augustine.[12]

Accordingly, the boat, six hands, and "_three white
men_," with some provisions, put off with a fair wind,
and a pure sky.... We meandered down a creek for about
eleven miles—the water torpid yet clear—the shore lined
with thousands of acres covered by fall grapes, marshes,
and high palm trees, rendering the shore quite novel to
my anxious eye. Some birds were shot, and secured so as
to be brought back, in order to undergo the _skinning
operation_. Before long we entered the Halifax river,
an inland arm of the sea, measuring in breadth from a
quarter to nearly a mile.

They reached a spot, called "Live Oak Landing," where a schooner from
New York was then anchored, and there passed the night.

At sunrise the next morning, I and four negro servants
proceeded in search of birds and adventures. The fact
is, that I was anxious to kill some 25 brown Pelicans
... to enable me to make a new drawing of an adult
male bird, and to procure the dresses of the others. I
proceeded along a narrow, shallow bay, where the fish
were truly abundant. Would you believe it, if I were
to say, that the fish nearly obstructed our head-way?
Believe it, or not, so it was; the waters were filled
with them, large and small. I shot some rare birds,
and putting along the shore, passed a point, when lo, I
came in sight of several hundred pelicans, perched on
the branches of mangrove trees, seated in comfortable
harmony, as near each other as the strength of the
boughs would allow. I ordered to back water gently; the
hands backed water. I waded to the shore under cover
of the rushes along it, saw the pelecans fast asleep,
examined their countenances and deportment well and
leisurely, and after all, levelled, fired my piece, and
dropped two of the finest specimens I ever saw. I really
believe I would have shot one hundred of these reverend
sirs, had not a mistake taken place in the reloading
of my gun. A mistake, however, did take place, and to
my utmost disappointment, I saw each pelecan, old and
young, leave his perch, and take to wing, soaring off,
well pleased, I dare say, at making so good an escape
from so dangerous a foe.

After shooting more birds, and pushing or pulling their boat "over
oyster banks sharp as razors," they made the schooner at the landing
again. "The birds, generally speaking," he continues, "appeared wild
and few—you must be aware that I call birds few, when I shoot less than
one hundred per day."

Such remarks as we have just quoted might convey the impression that
the American woodsman, with whose name the cause of bird protection is
now associated in this country, was a reckless destroyer of all bird
life, but this was far from the case. It must be remembered that this
was over eighty years ago, when the unrivaled abundance of our birds
was such that the necessity of their conservation had hardly entered
the dreams of the most discerning. Audubon no doubt had gradually
yielded to the prevalent mania for describing and figuring new species,
and to make out all the minute specific differences a large series
of specimens was necessary; still more were needed for the detection
of individual variation, which did not escape him, and much less his
assistant, William MacGillivray, who demanded large numbers for his
anatomical studies. Furthermore, Audubon counted upon defraying a part
of his expenses by collections of skins of American birds, which were
then desiderata among the museums of Europe.[13]

When it was proposed that they should return,

preparations were accordingly made, and we left the
schooner, with tide and wind in our teeth, and with the
prospect of a severe, cold night. Our hands pulled well,
and our bark was as light as our hearts. All went on
merrily until dark night came on. The wind freshening,
the cold augmenting, the provisions diminishing,
the waters lowering, all—all depreciating except our
enterprising dispositions. We found ourselves fast in
the mud about 300 yards from a marshy shore, without
the least hope of being able to raise a fire, for
no trees except palm trees were near, and the _grand
diable_ himself could not burn one of them. Our minds
were soon made up to do—what? Why, to roll ourselves
in our cloaks, and lay down, the best way we could,
at the bottom of our light and beautiful barque. Good
God, what a night! To sleep was impossible; the cold
increased with the breeze, and every moment seemed an
hour, from the time we stretched ourselves down until
the first glimpse of the morn; but the morn came, clear
as ever morn was, and the north-easter as cold as ever
wind blew in this latitude. All hands half dead, and
masters as nearly exhausted as the hands—stiffened with
cold, light-clothed, and but slight hope of our nearing
any shore; our only resort was, to leap into the mire,
waste-deep, and to push the barque to a point, some
five hundred or six hundred yards, where a few scrubby
trees seem to have grown to save our lives on this
occasion. "Push, boys, push! Push for your lives!", cry
the generous Bulow, and the poor Audubon.—"All hands
push!" Aye and well might we push: the mire was up to
our breasts, our limbs becoming stiffened at every step
we took. Our progress was slowly performed as if we had
been clogged with heavy chains. It took us two and a
half hours to reach the point, where the few trees of
which I have spoken were; but, thank God, we did get
there.

_We landed_ ... and well it was that we did; for on
reaching the margin of the marsh, two of the negroes
fell down in the marsh, as senseless as torpidity ever
rendered an alligator, or a snake; and had we, _the
white men_, not been there, they certainly would have
died. We had carried them into the little grove, to
which, I believe, all of us owe our lives. I struck
a fire in a crack; and, in five minutes, I saw, with
indescribable pleasure, the bright, warming blaze in
a log pile in the center of our shivering party. We
wrapped the negroes in their blankets—boiled some water,
and soon had some tea—made them swallow it, and with
care revived them into animation. May God preserve
you from being ever in the condition of our party at
this juncture; scarcely a man able to stand, and the
cold wind blowing as keenly as ever. Our men, however,
gradually revived—the trees, one after another, fell
under the hatchet, and increased our fire—and in two
hours I had the pleasure of seeing cheerful faces again.

Their predicament, however, was still serious, for, to continue the
narrative, they were

confined in a large salt marsh, with rushes head high,
and miry; no provisions left, and fifteen miles from the
house of their host.

Not a moment was to be lost, for I foresaw that the next
night would prove much colder still. The boat was manned
once more, and off through the mud we moved to double
the point, and enter the creek, of which I have spoken,
with the hope that in it we should find water enough to
float her. It did happen so, thank God! As we once more
saw our barque afloat, our spirits rose,—and rose to
such a pitch that we in fun set fire to the whole marsh:
crack, crack, crack! went the reeds, with a rapid blaze.
We saw the marsh rabbits, scampering from the fire by
the thousands, as we pulled our oars.

Their pleasure in being afloat was short-lived, for "the northeaster
had well nigh emptied the creek of its usual quantum of water," and
they were again obliged to wade to effect a landing, their object being
to gain the east Florida coast and thus make their escape. This was
finally attained after abandoning their boat, when began a long tramp
on the beach, in the teeth of the wind,

through sand that sent our feet back six inches at
every step of two feet that we made. Well, through this
sand we all _waded_, for many a long mile, picking
up here and there a shell that is nowhere else to be
found, until we reached the landing place of J. J.
Bulow. Now, my heart, cheer up once more, for the sake
of my most kind host.... I assure you, I was glad to
see him nearing his own comfortable roof; and as we saw
the large house opening to view, across his immense
plantation, I anticipated a good dinner with as much
pleasure as I ever experienced.

All hands returned alive; refreshments and good care
have made us all well again, unless it be the stiffness
occasioned in my left leg, by nearly six weeks of daily
wading through swamps and salt marshes, or scrambling
through the vilest thickets of scrubly live oaks and
palmitoes that appear to have been created for no other
purpose but to punish us for our sins.

Readers of the following account who have visited eastern Florida may
conclude that Audubon was not a good prophet, but probably at that
early day no one could have made a better forecast of the future:

The land, if land it can be called, is generally so
very sandy that nothing can be raised upon it. The
swamps are the only spots that afford a fair chance
for cultivation; the swamps, then, are positively the
only places where plantations are to be found. These
plantations are even few in number; along the coast
from St. Augustine to Cape Carnaveral, there are about
a dozen. These, with the exception of two or three,
are yet young plantations. General Hernandez's, J. J.
Bulow's, and Mr. Durham's are the strongest, and perhaps
the best. Sugar cane will prosper, and doubtless do
well; but the labour necessary to produce a good crop,
is great! great!! great!!! Between the swamps of which
I now speak, and which are found along the margin laying
west of the sea inlet, that divides _the main land_ from
the Atlantic, to the river St. John of the interior of
the peninsula, nothing exists but barren pine lands of
poor timber, and immense savannas, mostly overflowed,
and all unfit for cultivation. That growth, which in
any other country is called underwood, scarcely exists;
the land being covered with low palmitoes, or very low,
thickly branched dwarf oaks, almost impenetrable to man.
The climate is of a most unsettled nature, at least at
this season. The thermometer has made leaps from 30
to 89 degrees in 24 hours, cold, warm, sandy, muddy,
watery,—all these varieties may be seen in one day's
travelling.... Game and fish, it is true, are abundant;
but the body of valuable tillable land is too small to
enable the peninsula ever to become a rich state.

[Illustration: EARLY UNPUBLISHED DRAWING IN WATER-COLOR OF THE
CAROLINA PARROT, ON BRANCH OF THE HICKORY, DATED "HENDERSON, JUNE
9TH, 1811." THE ORIGINAL BEARS THE NOTE: "POOR IMITATION OF COLOR,
THE NATURAL BIRD BEING EXTREMELY GLOSSY AND RICH."

Published by courtesy of Mr. Joseph Y. Jeanes.]

On January 6, 1832, the party started to visit a famous spring near
the sources of the St. John's River, which was described in his third
letter to Featherstonhaugh as well as in a later "Episode."[14] There
his host, Colonel Rees, who utilized the abundant flow from this
curious spring for grinding the whole of his sugar cane, took them
down the Spring Garden Creek to a series of muddy lakes which emptied
into the St. John's. The mud on this occasion was the cause of great
disappointment to the naturalist, for it made it impossible for him to
recover what he believed to represent a new species of Ibis, which was
shot in one of those bottomless pits. "Being only a few yards distant
from us," to quote from Audubon's third letter,[15] "and quite near
enough to ascertain the extent of my loss, I submitted to lose a fine
pair of a new species, the which if I ever fall in with it again, I
shall call _Tantalus fuscus_."

When they had reached the borders of Woodruff's Lake, after noon,
fatigued and hungry, he continued:

We landed on a small island of a few acres, covered
with a grove of sour orange trees, intermixed with not
a few live oaks. The oranges were in great profusion
on the trees—everything about us was calm and beautiful
and motionless, as if it had just come from the hand of
the Creator. It would have been a perfect Paradise for a
poet, but I was not fit to be in Paradise; the loss of
my ibis made me as sour as the oranges that hung about
me. I felt unquiet, too, in this singular scene, as if I
were almost upon the verge of creation, where realities
were tapering off into nothing. The general wildness the
eternal labyrinths of waters and marshes, interlocked,
and apparently never ending; the whole surrounded by
interminable swamps—all these things had a tendency
to depress my spirits, notwithstanding some beautiful
flowers, rich looking fruits, a pure sky, and ample
sheets of water at my feet. Here I am in the Floridas,
thought I, a country that received its name from the
odours wafted from the orange groves, to the boats of
the first discoverers, and which from my childhood I
have consecrated in my imagination as the garden of the
United States. A garden, where all that is not mud, mud,
mud, is sand, sand, sand; where the fruit is so sour
that it is not eatable, and where in place of singing
birds and golden fishes, you have a species of ibis that
you cannot get when you have shot it, and alligators,
snakes, and scorpions.

Mr. Bartram was the first to call this a garden, but
he is to be forgiven; he was an enthusiastic botanist,
and rare plants, in the eyes of such a man, convert a
wilderness at once into a garden.

When we had eaten our humble repast at the sweet little
Orange Grove Island, we left it "alone with its glory,"
but not without a name. It was determined, nolens
volens, that it should be called Audubon's Island, on
the St. John's river. Lat. 29° 42´.

Early in February, 1832, Lieutenant Piercy took Audubon and his
assistants aboard the government schooner _Spark_ at St. Augustine,
and sailed for the mouth of the St. John's River, which he had orders
to ascend in the interests of the Revenue Service. On February 12,
when they had reached a point one hundred miles from the mouth of the
river, the vessel, being in need of repairs, was suddenly recalled.
Audubon, with two men, thereupon engaged a boat and attempted to return
to St. Augustine across country, by a short cut to the eastward. They
were soon stranded and the party divided. Audubon with his dog and
one companion then endeavored to make their way by land to the town,
eighteen miles distant, but they were overtaken by a terrific gale and
thunder-storm, and in order to keep to the trails were often obliged to
grope their way on hands and knees.[16]

At about this time the publishers of the _Journal of Geology
and Natural Science_, from which we have quoted, failed, and
Featherstonhaugh, who assumed their debts to all subscribers, was
obliged to bring it to a close with the completion of the first volume;
Audubon's third and last letter appeared in the valedictory number for
June, 1832.

Again the naturalist applied to the government officials at Washington
for assistance, and, as the following letter shows, Edward Everett
again came to his aid, as did also Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the
Navy, to whom Audubon later received a personal introduction from Chief
Justice Taney of the Supreme Court:

_Levi Woodbury to Louis McLane_

NAVY DEPARTMENT

_February 24 1832_

SIR,

The letter of the Honorable Mr. Everett of the 18th.
inst. relating to Mr. Audubon &c and referred by you to
this Department, has been received.

I regret that the impaired condition of the Spark made
it necessary some weeks ago, to order that vessel to
Norfolk to be refitted.

I have heretofore taken much pleasure in furnishing Mr.
Audubon with credentials to the officers of the Navy,
and requesting [them] to furnish every aid, in the
prosecution of [his] scientific researches: and shall be
happy to afford any further facilities within the power
of the Department.

I am very respectfully
&c &c

LEVI WOODBURY

HONORABLE. L. MC LANE
Secy of the Treasury

Finally, on April 15, 1832, Audubon and his party were able to
board the revenue cutter _Marion_, commanded by Robert Day, and the
opportunity thus afforded for exploring the dangerous east Florida
coast amply repaid them for their long and vexatious delays. They
visited the islands from St. Augustine to Key West, and examined every
part of the shore which it was the duty of the _Marion_ to approach.
At Indian Key the deputy collector, Mr. Thurston, gave Audubon the
services of his pilot, a veteran sailor and hunter, who accompanied
him on the _Marion_ for a number of weeks and led many boat journeys
to lonely islands, where vast colonies of sea fowl then dwelt in
undisputed possession. The leisurely movements of the vessel also
enabled the naturalist to produce many finished drawings, and to obtain
materials for fresh "Episodes."[17] At Key West Audubon was hospitably
received by Major Classel,[18] and by Dr. Strobel, who was of great
assistance both to him and to Bachman in procuring new birds from that
little known point.

The unexpected delays experienced in Florida, and the expense
which the presence of his assistants necessarily entailed, in all
probability, deterred the naturalist from the more hazardous and
uncertain enterprise of attempting to reach the Rocky Mountains and
the Pacific Coast, which for years had been the great object of his
ambition. At all events, after their work was finished at Key West,
the party returned to St. Augustine, and on the fifth day of March
again boarded the packet schooner _Agnes_, which was to bear them with
their collections to Charleston. Audubon, however, left the vessel at
Savannah, in order to deliver letters from the Rathbones of Liverpool
to a number of their rich merchant friends in the former city. One of
these, named William Gaston,[19] at first declined to subscribe to _The
Birds of America_, on the ground of its great expense and the demands
made upon his purse by charity, but his indifference was quickly
overcome: not only did he write his name on Audubon's list, but he
immediately went out and obtained three other subscribers; he even
insisted on becoming Audubon's agent at Savannah, and saw to it that
none of those subscriptions was ever allowed to lapse in after years.
Savannah eventually gave him six subscribers, which was more than were
credited to either Philadelphia or Baltimore.

At Charleston the party disbanded. Lehman returned to Philadelphia,
whither Audubon later followed him, but Henry Ward obtained a position
with the Museum of Natural History, in which Bachman was interested,
and he appears to have been of much assistance both to Bachman and to
his friend in procuring for them specimens of new or desirable birds
and mammals; at a later day, however, he seems to have fallen into
disesteem on account of unpaid debts.

CHAPTER XXVII

EASTERN VISIT AND EXPLORATIONS IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC

Bachman's success as a canvasser—Boston visit—Journey to
Portland—Ascent of the St. John's—Return overland—Victor
Audubon becomes his father's agent—Winter in Boston—The
Golden Eagle—Stricken with illness—Expedition to
Labrador planned—American support—Sails from Eastport
with five assistants—Discoveries and adventures on the
Labrador—Safe return—Another winter at Charleston—Sued
for old debts—Experience with vultures—Advice and
instruction to a son—Working habits—Return to England.

Foiled in his attempt to see the Florida coast at the season best
suited to his purposes, and disappointed in his ambition to penetrate
to the Far West, Audubon now turned his attention to the East and
determined to follow the migratory birds to their summer homes in the
North Atlantic. He left Charleston in early June, 1832, and went to
Philadelphia,[20] where he remained about a month, waiting, it seems,
for his wife and two sons to join him. In a letter to Edward Harris,
dated at Philadelphia, June 9, 1832, he said that he had left the
"National hotel, on account of the too high price, I found I would
have to pay there, and removed to Camden, at a Mr. Armstrong's, where
I formerly boarded"; he asked Harris to send him "a pair of fine
woodchucks," as he wished to secure a drawing of those animals.

It is interesting to notice that while Audubon had been absent in
Florida, his friend Bachman had busied himself in his behalf and
eventually succeeded in placing three copies of _The Birds of America_
in public institutions in Charleston. On December 23, 1831, he wrote to
Audubon, who was then at St. Augustine:

I arrived in Columbia, S. C., almost too late, for the
"House" had just resolved that the State was too poor
to subscribe for Audubon's work. I felt that it would
be a disgrace to the State; and, for the first time in
my life, I turned to electioneering. And now, behold
me among the back countrymen, spinning long yarns. The
thing however, took, and your book is subscribed for....
I read what was said in your favor with regard to the
"Rattlesnake Story," and thus far, they have not found
a wrong twist in your yarn; but be careful in describing
the wonders of the South and West.

Audubon wrote to Bachman from Philadelphia, July 1, 1832: "G. Ord has
caused a most violent attack on my veracity to be inserted in a London
journal; how will he stand _mine eye_, on Tuesday next at the Society,
is more than I can at present tell.... Mr. Berthoud will ship you 3
volumes of the Birds of America, and the succeeding numbers; he will
send a bill of sale of those."

His plan was now to visit Boston and Maine, and he left Philadelphia
with his family in early August; they traveled by stage to New York,
but upon finding that the city was then suffering from a periodic
scourge of the cholera, tarried but a day and hastened on. The
following letter which Richard Harlan sent after his friend in August
of this year shows that his own city did not escape the pest:

_Richard Harlan to Audubon_

[Addressed] J. J. AUDUBON Esqr.
No Pearle st.
Boston

[PHILADELPHIA, _August, 1832_.]

DEAR SIR—

I have just recd. your favour of the 5th inst—by which
I perceive you are not in possession of the letter
I addressed you to the care of Mr Berthoud, the day
after your departure. I have since forwarded two others
one from N. Orleans, also to care of Mr. Berthoud—The
Cholera has raged dreadfully in some localities here—I
was engaged on Monday superintending the removal of
the sick prisoners from the jail in arch St. at the
request of the City authorities—I was there three times
during the day—60 were sick at one time, the suffering,
and agony of the dying wretches, was an awful sight
to witness, 26 died there that day, and about as many
more who were removed to the various local Hospitals—I
have treated altogether up to present date 35—of whom
18 from prison. 16 have died—and only one remains
today—my success is rather encouraging considering the
_habits_ of the poor wretches whose cases fell under my
care—most of the fatal cases were in a dying state when
admitted—I would not have recd. them, but for the wish
to alleviate suffering and scatter the tenants of the
infected rooms of the jail—The Newspapers do not give an
accurate account, because numbers are cured in the early
stages whose cases are never reported—the statements
of deaths are more accurate—and I suppose the greatest
mortality has not exceeded 100 per diem—today only 26
deaths reported, there will probably be more tomorrow—I
am happy to hear of yr. safe arrival and reception in
Boston, in Mr Perkins you will find an aimable, liberal,
and efficient patron, Mr Featherston [Featherstonhaugh]
has been in town, but is at present at Braddywine
springs—his may No has just appeared—he told me it would
be in time to strike out Vignolas name—in the next No
My term of duty as Surgeon to the alms House commenced
at the 1st of August—the sik for the surgical wards
have also suffered, but not so much as the poor tenants
of the cells, it has nearly cleaned them out—some
respectable, but weakly families in the city have
already suffered—My time is usefully, at least, if not
profitably employed, night and day. cholera, cholera,
cholera!!!!—Tho' I may have no time to write much—I
always think of absent frd—Remember to Nuttall, and all
yr. family, Most truly yrs

R HARLAN

Audubon's visit to Boston in the summer of 1832 was a red-letter period
in his career. So warmly was he then welcomed by the leading public
and professional men of the city that he could never say enough in
praise of the Bostonians. Dr. George Parkman, Dr. George C. Shattuck,
and Col. Thomas H. Perkins,[21] who was already one of his subscribers,
were among his most enthusiastic supporters. Of Parkman Audubon said:
"He it is, whose memory is most dear to me." It was doubtless Parkman,
then a professor in the Medical School, who introduced Audubon to the
president of Harvard University, Josiah Quincy, whose name was added to
his list.

On August 14, shortly after reaching Boston, Audubon wrote to his
friend Harris:

We left Camden, pushed by the season, and the desire
I have to fulfil towards my subscribers, the world,
and indeed myself, the task allotted me by nature,—the
completion of my work.... Allow me to say that with
my work, as in the days of '76, the Bostonians have
proved themselves the best supporters of a good cause
in the country. We expect the support of the Cambridge
University, that of the Natural History Society, & again
of the State! (Pray remember how anxious we are to have
all the States.)

I made drawings of 3 rare species; one is the Marsh
Wren, for which I searched in vain when near Salem; the
2d. is a Fly-catcher, described by Mr. Nuttall, and the
last a Thrush.

We leave tomorrow for Portland, in Maine, through which
we will merely pass, and ere one week expires, expect to
be at the Bay of Fundy.

The Audubon family now traveled by carriage and mail-coach along the
entire coast of Maine, but made no prolonged stay until they reached
Eastport, where excursions were taken into the surrounding country,
and the woods and shores were thoroughly ransacked. At Dennisville
they made the acquaintance of Judge Lincoln's family, which rendered
their stay of a number of weeks "exceedingly agreeable"; as will appear
later,[22] it was this agreeable family that furnished Audubon with
a valuable recruit for his expedition to Labrador. Towards the end of
September they entered New Brunswick and began to ascend the St. John's
River. A week was passed at Fredericton, where they were hospitably
received by Sir Archibald Campbell. Thence they continued in a small
boat, which was towed upstream by mules, to Woodstock, Maine. There
a cart was procured, in which they proceeded overland to Houlton,
in Aroostook County, then "A neat village, consisting of some fifty
houses," and after a few days passed at this garrison town in looking
for new birds, they started for Bangor, following the old military road
which led along the Penobscot River to Old Town. Said the ornithologist
of this journey:

Autumn, with her mellow tints, her glowing fruits, and
her rich fields of corn, smiled in placid beauty. Many
of the fields had not been reaped; the fruits of the
forests and orchards hung clustering around us, and
as we came in view of the Penebscot river, our hearts
thrilled with joy....

The road which we followed from Old Town to Bangor was
literally covered with Penobscot Indians, returning from
market. On reaching the latter beautiful town, we found
very comfortable lodgings in an excellent hotel; and the
next day we proceeded by the mail to Boston.[23]

Audubon felt that he ought to remain in America for at least another
year, and decided to send his son, Victor, to England to take charge
of his publication. This work had now become a paramount family
interest, and for the nineteen years of life that remained to the
elder Audubon, his two sons virtually became his assistants, John as an
active collector and companion in the field, and Victor as his business
agent and secretary. In writing again to Edward Harris, from Boston,
November 1, 1832, Audubon noted that they had found the Canada Grouse
in abundance, and that he was assured of its breeding commonly within
the Union; Victor, he added, had sailed to England, "on the tenth of
last month" on the packet ship _South America_.

The autumn of 1832 and the following winter were spent in Boston, where
the naturalist was busily engaged in drawing and in laying plans for
the now famous expedition to the coast of Labrador. Meantime Bachman,
who was keenly interested in his success, was urging him to return to
Charleston; on October 20, 1832, he wrote: "A month in your society
would afford me greater pleasure than the highest prize in a lottery. I
cannot, I find, feel myself at home with new birds without having the
skins to refer to. My cabinet is enlarging every day. Henry Ward now
prepares the skins—a pair of each.... What ducks, that are not likely
to be obtained for you in Boston, would you like Maria to draw for
you?" Writing again on the 26th of October, he said:[24]

I wish to know what you are doing—what progress your
work is making; and, whilst I feel deeply interested
for your fame ... I feel also a particular interest
in your personal welfare, and that of all that
belongs to you;... Besides, I want to see you once
more to ascertain whether you have stuck to your good
resolutions, viz., never to swear (which is a vulgar
practice for one who is conversant with the most
beautiful of God's works, the feathered race), and
never to work on Sundays. However, you are now under
the tutorage of your good wife, and, I doubt not, you
are as obedient to her in these things, as you ought to
be.... You say new birds are scarce. So they are, and
yet, in my opinion, we will occasionally find them for
half a century to come. (November 11) Maria has figured
for you the "White Hibiscus," and, also, a red one, both
natives and beautiful; a Euonymus in seed, in which
our Sylvia is placed; the white Nondescript Rose; the
Gordonica, a Begonia.... She is prepared to send them
to you; shall she ship them at once to Boston?... Your
resolution to publish the 3rd. Vol. of Water Birds, you
will recollect was partly entered into here, and from
that moment, my mind was at ease. It will give you four
or five years in advance, and will enable you, in a 5th.
Vol., to add all recent discoveries of Land and Water
Birds. Should you yet be able to go to Florida and the
Pacific, I apprehend that you will extend our American
Ornithology to 460 or 470 species, perhaps more. Your
sons being able to skin birds and paint them, is a great
desideratum; it should be mentioned in the preface to
your next volume. The talents of the family combined
... will now place the work beyond the fear of falling
through, even in case of your death, and the public
ought to know it. But you must push for subscribers. If
your son Victor can do nothing in Europe, you must go
there yourself, and sooner than let the work suffer,
you must go on a pilgrimage throughout all the great
cities of our Union. Should God spare your life, I want
to hear of you enjoying, in your old age "_Otium cum
dignitate_," and to see your children reaping some of
your recompense.

[Illustration: JOHN BACHMAN

AFTER A RARE ENGRAVING BY CHARLES C. WRIGHT OF A PORTRAIT BY A.
FISHER, PUBLISHED AT CHARLESTON IN 1822. FROM A COPY IN POSSESSION
OF MR. JOSEPH V. JEANES.]

[Illustration: ROBERT HAVELL.

AFTER A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEATH IN 1878.
PUBLISHED BY COURTESY OF MR. RUTHVEN DEANE.]

Under date of December 20, 1832, his friend "had nothing to write
but bad news," and hoped "to see our political atmosphere a little
brighter. Do not ask me about birds; I do not know a Buzzard from a
King Bird.... Oh, what an enjoyment it would be for me to escape, just
for one week, from the hydra-headed 'Nullification,' and sit by your
side and talk birds!"

Audubon was anticipating his third volume of plates, devoted mainly
to water birds, which was begun with Number 45, in 1834, when the
following letter was sent to his son in London:

_Audubon to his Son, Victor_

BOSTON, _Jany, 17th, 1833_—.

MY DEAR VICTOR—

The Columbia arrived yesterday at New York, and N
[icholas]. B [erthoud]. has forwarded us Mr. Havell's
letter and yours, both dated 30th. of November last—.
I hope soon to see the drawings to work on them—. You
give no account of that of The _Bartram Sandpiper_
and of The _Spotted Sandpiper_—; probably they have
escaped you—let me know so that I may renew these should
they be missing—, but I think my Friend Children has
them—enquire—

The Charlotte is not yet in. She had not left Deal on
the 27th of Nov r.—

Your Dear Mother & John wrote to you this morning and
you will probably receive this, and that letter at the
same moment—.

We will keep all the half Bound Copies of Volume
1st. in America where I hope soon to dispose of
them—go on and push the Work with care and all will
be well—give our best regards to Havell & his wife
& family—I had expected the Death of his Father[25]
sometimes—remembrances to our good friend Children,
Cuthbutton &c., &c. I will be able to arrange 100
Drawings of Water Birds, ready, and in that finest of
style for Publication—Tell Havell I will write to him in
a very few Days, and to keep up a good Heart—I hope we
will all meet early in the Spring of 1834—

God bless you my Dear Victor: employ your time well
and [you] cannot fail being as Happy, at least as it is
possible to be, far away from your Dear Mother, John &
Your ever affectionate Father & Friend,

JOHN J. AUDUBON

Send the Gun & Drawing Paper of N—Largest & Middle Size
as quick as possible—

[Addressed] VICTOR G. AUDUBON Esqr.,
Care of
ROBT. HAVELL, Esqr.,
Engraver,
77 Oxford Street,
London.

While at Boston in the winter of 1833, Audubon obtained from the
proprietor of the New England Museum, in Court Street, a superb
specimen of the Golden Eagle, which had been caught in the White
Mountains in a trap set for foxes. Possessed with a desire to depict
this noble bird, he worked so hard at the drawing that, as he said,
it nearly cost him his life; he was suddenly seized with "a spasmodic
affection," which prostrated him for a time and greatly alarmed his
family, but thanks to a strong constitution and to the aid of his
medical friends, Doctors Parkman, Warren and Shattuck, the crisis was
averted, and he was soon able to continue his labors. "The drawing of
this Eagle," said the naturalist, "took me fourteen days, and I had
never before laboured so incessantly excepting at that of the Wild
Turkey." He was at work on this painting when the following letter[26]
was dispatched to his eldest son:

_Audubon to his Son, Victor_

BOSTON.
_Feb. 5th 1833._

MY DEAR FRIENDS

I am just now quite fatigued by the drawing of a Golden
Eagle which although it will make a splendid plate
has cost me sixty hours of the severest labor I have
experienced since I drew the Wild Turkey. You shall I
hope see it through the care of Mr. Gordon.[27] Do not
ever ship any more Nos. to this port unless on vessels
that are intended as packets. The Charlotte has not
come and it will be a rubber if I can get enough cash
to establish our going to Labrador until she does.
Push Jos. B. Kidd of Edinburgh if he _can_ be pushed to
paint copies of our drawings. I look on that series as
of great importance to us all. Havell's blunder in not
having the numbers and paper on board the New York in
time, is one which, with him I can never correct. If
you can do more than I on this score of punctuality I
will be gratified. I shall proceed to New York as soon
as the weather moderates, on Sunday last the thermom.
was 12 below zero. The work is now I am assured free of
duty. When you write give a word of recollection to Dr.
Parkman who is a most desirable and worthy friend.

God bless you, forever yours

J. J. AUDUBON.

In the spring of 1833 Audubon was determined to carry out a long
cherished desire to explore the coast of Labrador, where he hoped
not only to discover many new birds, but to ascertain the summer
plumages and breeding habits of a host of water fowl that were known
to resort in the milder season to that stern and rock-bound shore.
Accordingly, he set about with characteristic energy to organize and
finance an expedition upon his own responsibility. The number of his
American subscribers was steadily increasing, and at that moment he
felt a degree of confidence in the future of his work to hazard almost
any undertaking. In April, when his plans were fixed, he went to New
York to consult with his wife's brother-in-law and agent, Nicholas
A. Berthoud, and to settle his business affairs before leaving the
country. While there he wrote the following long letter[28] to his son,
Victor, filled, as usual, with careful instructions and interesting
personal details. It will be noticed that when he took pen in hand the
number of his American subscribers stood at 51, but before he laid it
down it had risen to 54; his belief that his efforts in the cause of
natural science would receive a hearty response in his own country was
fully justified.

_Audubon to his Son, Victor_

NEW YORK _April 28th 1833_—

MY DEAR VICTOR—

On opening the box containing the numbers last sent to
this place for distribution, we found the contents Wet
and of course some of them damaged. We have however
dried them and made of them that could be done and
they will all go on Monday (tomorrow) to their Several
destinations—In future I recommend that Each parcel of
numbers for the different individuals are rolled up in
separate Parcel, inclosed in good stout brown Paper, and
each directed outside, enumerating the numbers therein
contained—then put all the Rolls in a Box—in this manner
they all will be less liable to Injury, will not need
to be undone here for we have no trouble at all at
the Custom House, and it will Save the handling of the
Plates at the Compting House.—

N. Berthoud rendered me his account yesterday I send
you inclose a Copy of it—and I also send you a Copy of
a general & particular memorandum left with him, by the
assistance of which the Business is clearly exhibited,
so that each Subscriber's Standing with the Work Shows
at once.—

The Balance in our favor in N. Berthoud's hands is $
1358.91—We have due _South of this_ $ 1834.48. and at
Boston $ 1220.00—altogether $ 4413.39.—The Boston amount
will be ready for me when I reach there on Thursday
next.—I take from N. B's hands here $ 800.00.—300 $ of
which I give to your Dear Mother—when at Boston I will
take 500 $ more and send the Balance to N. Berthoud—he
will then have about $ 1278.91 of cash out of which he
will send you 100 £ say 480 $ leaving still with him
about $ 798.91, besides what he will collect from the
South the amount which is mentioned above, _all of_
which I hope will be collected ere I return to this
Place, as early as I can without losing the opportunity
of doing all that can be done.

You will easily perceive by all this that we have been
extremely fortunate of late on this Side of the Water,
and the 400 £ forwarded to you will fully enable you
to meet the demands of Havell &c for the 20 Volumes
you have to send here & other emergencies.—We have at
Present 51 Subscribers in the U. States, without the
name of Docr Croghan from whom not a word has been
heard, and also without that of _Baron Krudener_ who
is now at Washington City, but who has not taken any
cognisance of the letter I sent him. N. Berthoud is
going to write to him and I hope the Baron will take the
work.—he certainly ought.

I found the Plates sent here better coloured than usual
and with your present assistance I greatly hope the
goodness of the Work will still improve.—Nicholas will
forward you Two very beautiful Numbers—the Plates are as
follows,

No 37. Plate 181. Golden Eagle Figures 1
"—182. Ground Doves " 5
"—183. Golden crested Wren " 2
"—184. Mangrove Humming Bird " 5
"—185. Bachman's Warbler " 2

No 38.— "—186. Pinnated Grous " 3
"—187. Boat Tail Grackle " 2
"—188. Tree Sparrow " 2
"—189. Snow Bunting " 3
"—189. Yellow bellied Woodpecker " 2

I should have sent you 2 more Numbers had I The Two
large Plates for them, but hoping that I may meet with
something Large & perhaps New I Shall not do so, until
I return which will be Still time enough.—I am very
anxious to See the 2d Volume finished and for this
reason invite you to push the Work, as much as you can
& have it very well executed meantime.

The State of Maryland is subscribed to by D. Ridgely
M.D. Librarian of that State. he desires the 1st Volume
and the following numbers forwarded as soon as can
be.—Send it here—as he has authorized N. B. to draw on
him for Payment.—Miss Harriet Douglass also desires to
have her Number sent here for the Future. I hope the
Copies for Col Perkins & others at Boston & vicinity, as
well as for Wm Oakes, & John Neale will soon arrive.—

April 30th—Since the above, I have obtained Two more
Subscribers—the names of whom are

1. Richd F. Carman. New York
1. L. Reed—— Do Do.—

I was told last night that the State has also
Subscribed, but cannot tell until I see this day's
Paper—Whilst at the Lyceum of Natural History last
evening, I was promised their Subscription on Monday
next—being the Society's day of business.

I have concluded to send the 2 Numbers of Drawings by
the Packett—The Tin case containing them, will be given
to the special care of the Capn on whom you will do
well to call immediately.—I have _given_ a 1st Volume to
Nicholas Berthoud; there are many enquiries made to see
the Work and it answers that purpose well.

John & I leave for Boston either this afternoon or
tomorrow—perhaps tomorrow as we have much to do.—It
is not probable that Edd Harriss will join us at East
Port and go to Labrador with us—I shall write to you at
every opportunity as these may occur, and doubtless from
Halifax.

Mr Inman has painted my Portrait in Oil, and _I
say_ that it is a truer portrait of me than even the
Miniature.—Now my Dear Victor exert yourself in the
having all the Volumes compleated which I have written
for—See that they are carefully packed with Paper
between each &c &c &c I shall not close this until I
have given the Box to the Capn and when I hope to add
the Subscription of this State.—

2, o'clock—I have just returned from the bustle of the
Lower part of the City—_the State has_ Subscribed!
Therefore add that valuable one. There is no Packet
for London Tomorrow, therefore the Drawings will go
off on the 10th of May by the Capn in whose particular
care they will be given.—These 10 Drawings have been
insured this morning against _all Risk_, for 2,000 $
at ½ per Centum—I hope you will receive them in perfect
order; they are carefully packed by myself in a Tin Box
securely sodered &c &c.

We have now 54. Subscribers in America. Mr Inman is
going to Paint the Portrait of your Dear Mother, and
I have not a doubt that it will be "good & true." The
Weather is extremely Warm—The Thermometer ranges at
nearly 72. The Martins are flying over the City and
Tomorrow I shall fly toward the Coast of Labrador—If
fortunate I shall bring a load of Knowledge of the Water
Birds which spend the Winter in our Country and May hope
to Compete in the study of their Habits with any Man in
the World.

My Good Friend Charles Bonaparte as (I am told)
taken umbrage at a Passage in My Introduction (first
Volume)[29] Which proves how difficult it is to please
_every one_—I am going to write to him by Duplicate to
try to _correct_ that Error _of his_—God ever bless You
my Dear Son, and May We all meet Well & Happy

Yours ever affectionately,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

Audubon was particularly anxious to enlist a number of enthusiastic
young men in the Labrador enterprise, and had hoped that his friend,
Edward Harris, would join the party. Upon his return to Boston he
started at once for Eastport, Maine, where he expected to charter
a vessel and complete his preparations. On May 9, 1833, he wrote to
Harris from that point:

The more I approach the desired object of this voyage,
the more bouyant my spirits, and the greater my hopes
that when I return I will bring a cargo (not of codfish)
but of most valuable information. Make up your mind;
shoulder your firelock, and away to the fields where
science awaits us with ample stores, the contents of
which are the rarest materials ever employed by nature.

To this friend he wrote again from Eastport on the 14th of the same
month:

As to my making use of your name in my letterpress, I
shall act as you desire, and yet I hope and fully expect
no denial on your part, on such occasions as will grant
me the pleasure of giving public notice of the treatment
I have received from you. I owe such a thing to you as
a trifling, very trifling, mark of my gratitude towards
one, whom I shall never cease to admire and esteem.

The _National Gazette_ of Philadelphia for May 2, 1833, devoted an
editorial to Audubon and his prospective Labrador journey, in which
the writer said: "We wish him a degree of success and prolongation of
vigor equal to his great merits: indeed, for the past at least, success
is fully assured." He added that between fifty and sixty subscribers
to _The Birds of America_ had then been obtained in the United States;
Boston had furnished eighteen; New York, eleven; Philadelphia, four;
Baltimore, eight; Savannah, seven; Louisville, two, and New Orleans,
three; moreover, the legislatures of Massachusetts, New York, Maryland
and South Carolina and the Congressional Library were subscribers for
one copy each. The writer continued:

A contribution to Mr. Audubon equal at least to that of
Boston or New York, would seem due from Philadelphia.
The subscription price may be considered as large ($
1,000), but how rich, ornamental, instructive, and
entertaining is the work, and how much preferable to the
merely personal gewgaws or transitory gratifications,
upon which greater sums are as frequently expended!
There are few minds of any refinement or elevation, to
which an act that rewards genius and fosters science,
would not yield higher and more durable pleasure than
any ordinary luxury.

We learn that Mr. Audubon will return to the United
States next autumn, and make a short sojourn before his
embarkation for Europe. Eight or nine more years, it is
supposed, will yet be necessary for the consummation of
his grand design. His constitution appears to be still
vigorous; his zeal is unabated; his powers of graphic
delineation have suffered no decay; we may, therefore,
expect that he will realize all his own laudatory hopes
and projects, and in so doing confer new obligations on
the votaries of natural history, and reflect additional
honor on his country.

While Audubon was still at Eastport, and looking anxiously for
young recruits, the following letter was received from Dr. George
Parkman:[30]

_Dr. George Parkman to Audubon_

BOSTON, _May 25th. 1833_.

J. J. AUDUBON Esqr.

DEAR SIR

Through the unceasing & active good-will of our Friend,
Dr. Shattuck, I present to you Mr. Ingalls, son of Dr.
Ingalls, one of our senior physicians & an experienced
public teacher of Anat.y & Surg.y—

The son is the father's pupil; & we have reason to
expect that he will prove a satisfactory disciple to
you.

The enclosed I claim for you the right to read, & for
myself to repossess, when we meet again.

respectfully

G. PARKMAN.

[Illustration: LETTER OF DR. GEORGE PARKMAN TO AUDUBON, MAY 25, 1833.

From the Howland MSS.]

Edward Harris was unable to accompany his friend, and the four young
men eventually chosen were Joseph Coolidge,[31] William Ingalls, of
Boston, Thomas Lincoln, of Dennisville, Maine, and George Cheyne
Shattuck,[32] the son of Dr. George C. Shattuck of Boston; these,
with John Woodhouse Audubon and the naturalist, made up the party. The
schooner _Ripley_, a staunch new vessel of 106 tons, was chartered at
Eastport, and the expedition was ready to start by the latter part of
May. During his stay at Eastport Audubon visited Grand Manan Island,
a favorite resort for sea birds in the Bay of Fundy, and cruised about
the coast in a revenue cutter. On May 31, he wrote to Victor:[33]

I have been working hard at the Birds from Grand Menan,
as well as John, who is overcoming his habit of sleeping
late, as I call him every morning at four, and we have
famous long days....

The hull of the vessel has been floored, and our great
table solidly fixed in a tolerably good light under
the main hatch; it is my intention to draw whenever
possible, and that will be many hours, for the daylight
is with us nearly all the time in those latitudes, and
the fishermen say you can do with little sleep, the air
is so pure.

After repeated delays the _Ripley_ sailed from Eastport for Labrador
on June 6, 1833, and the journey proved arduous and hazardous enough.
Although disappointing in respect to the number of new species of
birds discovered, Audubon's visit was well timed; he was aided by a
band of devoted and energetic youth, and they spent two months on the
coast of a wild country, then but little known save to a nefarious
crew of egg robbers and a few enterprising fishermen. His published
journal of the voyage shows that he worked to the full limit of his
physical powers in studying and portraying the wonderful bird life
which the party encountered. Despite the miseries of seasickness, an
incompetent pilot, tempestuous weather, and the cramped quarters of
a small schooner, where all his drawings had to be done under an open
hatch, he accomplished wonders, considering the shortness of his stay.
By rising at three o'clock in the morning and working for seventeen
hours, he succeeded in completing many large drawings of birds, as well
as studies of characteristic flowers; he also journalized voluminously
and saw much of the coast and its adjacent islands.

From Eastport they passed through the Gut of Canso and steered for the
Magdalen Islands, where they landed and made collections. On June 14
they approached the famous Bird Rock, which at a distance seemed to be
covered with a mantle of new-fallen snow, an illusion soon dispelled
as their vessel bore them nearer and a vast concourse of Gannets rose
in great clouds from the rock; "all stood astonished and amazed," said
Audubon, and he felt that such a sight had of itself fully repaid them
for their journey. On June 17, the twelfth day out from Eastport, they
passed Anticosti Island, and soon began to see what appeared like white
sails on the horizon; these proved to be snow drifts on the Labrador,
and on the 18th they landed at the mouth of the Natashquan River.
Ducks, Geese, Auks and Guillemots were there in great multitudes, as
well as Gulls and Terns; many were breeding, and all seemed wilder than
at points farther south, a circumstance which was explained as soon as
they discovered the astounding proportions which the traffic in eggs of
sea fowl had attained even at that time.[34]

On June 27 they procured a new bird[35] which Audubon named after
his young companion, Thomas Lincoln of Dennisville, Maine, and which
is still known as "Lincoln's Finch." This reference is found in his
journal for the 4th of July: "I have drawn all day, and have finished
the plate of the Fringilla lincolnii, to which I have put three plants
of the country; to us they are very fitting to the purpose, for Lincoln
gathered them."

The _Ripley_ left its anchorage at American Harbor or Natashquan
on June 28, and stood out to sea, their usual recourse to avoid
the intricacies of the coast. After proceeding fifty miles or more
they touched at numerous islands, where Guillemots, Puffins, and
Black-backed Gulls were breeding in vast numbers, and managed to anchor
safely, in spite of that "ignorant ass" of a pilot, at a wild and
desolate point which a recent traveler has identified as the harbor of
Wapitagun.[36] July the second was such a beautiful day for Labrador
that Audubon went on shore, where he drew this vivid picture of that
desolate land in sunshine:[37]

The country, so wild and grand, is of itself enough to
interest any one in its wonderful dreariness. Its mossy,
gray-clothed rocks, heaped and thrown together as if
by chance, in the most fantastical groups imaginable,
huge masses hanging on minor ones as if about to roll
themselves down from their doubtful-looking situations,
into the depths of the sea beneath. Bays without end,
sprinkled with rocky islands of all shapes and sizes,
where in every fissure a Guillemot, a Cormorant, or some
other wild bird retreats to secure its egg, and raise
its young, or save itself from the hunter's pursuit.
The peculiar cast of the sky, which never seems to be
certain, butterflies flitting over snow-banks, probing
beautiful dwarf flowerets of many hues [that are]
pushing their tender stems from the thick bed of moss
which everywhere covers the granite rocks. Then the
morasses, wherein you plunge up to your knees, or the
walking over the stubborn, dwarfish shrubbery, making
one think that as he goes he treads down the _forests_
of Labrador. The unexpected Bunting, or perhaps Sylvia,
which perchance, and indeed as if by chance alone, you
now and then see flying before you, or hear singing
from the creeping plants of the ground. The beautiful
fresh water lakes, on the ragged crests of greatly
elevated islands, wherein the Red and Black-necked
Divers swim as proudly as swans do in other latitudes,
and where the fish appear to have been cast as strayed
beings from the surplus food of the ocean. All—all is
wonderfully grand, wild—aye, and terrific. And yet how
beautiful it is now, when one sees the wild bee, moving
from one flower to another in search of food, which
doubtless is as sweet to it, as the essence of the
magnolia is to those of favored Louisiana. The little
Ring Plover rearing its delicate and tender young, the
Eider Duck swimming man-of-war-like amid her floating
brood, like the guardship of a most valuable convoy;
the White-crowned Bunting's sonorous note reaching the
ear ever and anon; the crowds of sea-birds in search of
places wherein to repose or to feed: how beautiful is
all this in this wonderful rocky desert at this season,
the beginning of July, compared with the horrid blasts
of winter which here predominate by the will of God,
when every rock is rendered smooth with snows so deep
that every step the traveller takes is as if entering
into his grave; for even should he escape an avalanche,
his eye dreads to search the horizon, for full well
does he know that snow,—snow, is all that can be seen. I
watched the Ring Plover for some time; the parents were
so intent on saving their young that they both lay on
the rocks as if shot, quivering their wings and dragging
their bodies as if quite disabled. We left them and
their young to the care of the Creator. I would not have
shot one of the old ones, or taken one of the young for
any consideration, and I was glad my young men were as
forbearing.

[Illustration: PLATE CXI
_Pileated Woodpecker_,
PICUS PILEATUS, Linn.
_Adult Male, 1. Adult Female, 2. Young Males, 3. 4. Racoon Grape.
Vitis astivalis._

Drawn from nature by J. J. Audubon, F.R.S. F.L.S.
Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R. Havell.]

On the 6th of July he wrote:[38]

By dint of hard work and rising at three, I have drawn
a _Colymbus septemtrionalis_ [Great Northern Diver]
and a young one, and nearly finished a Ptarmigan; this
afternoon, however, at half-past five, my fingers could
no longer hold my pencil, and I was forced to abandon
my work and go ashore for exercise. The fact is that I
am growing old too fast; alas! I feel it,—and yet work
I will, and may God grant me life to see the last plate
of my mammoth work finished.

On the seventh there is this note:

Drawing all day; finished the female Grouse and five
young, and prepared the male bird. The captain, John,
and Lincoln, went off this afternoon with a view to camp
on a bay about ten miles distant. Soon after, we had a
change of weather, and, for a wonder, bright lightning
and something like summer clouds. When fatigued with
drawing I went on shore for exercise, and saw many
pretty flowers, amongst them a flowering Sea-pea, quite
rich in color.... The mosquitoes quite as numerous as in
Louisiana.

On July 14 the _Ripley_ took the party forty-three miles farther east
to Little Maccatina, or Hare Harbor, as it is called today, where they
remained until July 21, proceeding thence to Baie de Portage. Here
they were able to enter their small boats, and visited the captain
of a whaling schooner from New Brunswick, a Canadian trapper, and a
Scotchman, Samuel Robertson by name, who was engaged in the sealing
industry at Sparr Point, all of whom Audubon pumped for information on
the country and its products. On July 25, they started for "Chevalier's
Settlement," but were caught in a storm, and came to in Bras d'Or
(Bradore) Bay; there they found the Labrador Duck, which in 1875, but
forty-two years later, had become totally extinct.

At the approach of August the brief Labrador summer, of barely one
month, was drawing to a close, and Audubon was exerting his utmost
efforts to accomplish his purposes. Under date of August 10 he
wrote:[39]

My reason for not writing at night is that I have
been drawing so constantly, often seventeen hours a
day, that the weariness of my body at night has been
unprecedented, by such work at least. At times I felt
as if my physical powers would abandon me; my neck, my
shoulders, and, more than all, my fingers, were almost
useless through actual fatigue at drawing. Who would
believe this? Yet, nothing is more true. When at the
return of dawn my spirits called me out of my berth,
my body seemed to beg my mind to suffer it to rest a
while longer; and as dark forced me to lay aside my
brushes I immediately went to rest as if I had walked
sixty-five miles that day, as I have done _a few times_
in my stronger days. Yesternight, when I rose from my
little seat to contemplate my work and to judge of the
effect of it compared with the nature which I had been
attempting to copy, it was the affair of a moment;
instead of waiting, as I always like to do, until the
hazy darkness which is to me the best time to judge of
the strength of light and shade, I went at once to rest
as if delivered from the heaviest task I ever performed.
The young men think my fatigue is added to by the fact
that I often work in wet clothes, but I have done that
all my life with no ill effects. No! no! it is that I am
no longer young. But I thank God that I did accomplish
my task; my drawings are finished to the best of my
ability, (and) the skins well prepared by John.

On the 11th of August all hands parted with Labrador without regret,
and the captain of the _Ripley_ steered for Newfoundland, where they
landed in St. George's Harbor on the 13th. That region was searched
for five days, when a fresh start was made for Pictou, Nova Scotia,
but when they encountered head winds, Audubon and his party were
landed on the nearest shore and made their way overland to the town.
Thence they proceeded to Truro and Halifax, and after three days
went on to Windsor, where they watched the famous tides in the Bay of
Fundy—emptying and filling a broad river, and rising, in course, to a
height of sixty-five feet. From that point a steamboat was taken to St.
Johns, New Brunswick, where the faithful Harris awaited the naturalist
with tidings of his wife and elder son;[40] this intelligence induced
him to abandon his contemplated course through the woods of Quebec and
hasten back to the United States. The party finally reached Eastport on
August 31, after being out nearly twelve weeks. When the _Ripley_ had
docked and their collections were securely packed, all but Coolidge and
Lincoln returned to Boston, and on September 7 Audubon was again in New
York.

The Labrador experience was in a measure disappointing, but the
naturalist brought back twenty-three large drawings of birds, complete
or nearly so, and seventy-three bird skins, as well as considerable
collections of marine animals and plants. The expenses of the journey
had been heavy, amounting, as he told his son, to "about $2,000," but
one fine morning when they had flushed a Black Poll Warbler from its
nest, Audubon felt that he was amply "refunded in the sight," though
this bird was later found to have a much wider breeding range than he
then supposed.

The _National Gazette_ of Philadelphia[41] published a long editorial
upon Audubon's return, as well as an extended account of his journey,
extracted from the _Boston Patriot_. To quote the editor's comment:

The distinguished naturalist returned from his
northeastern excursion to Boston Wednesday last. We
believe that there is no one who will not be gratified
to learn the progress of his arduous and unremitted
labors in a branch of science, which he has made
peculiarly his own; and he has kindly favored us with
information on the subject of his recent tour, which we
are glad to lay before our readers; regretting only that
we are unable to present it in his own rich and animated
language, and to invest it with the attractions which it
would derive from his own descriptive powers.

[Illustration: LETTER OF ROBERT HAVELL TO AUDUBON, JUNE 15, 1833.

From the Deane MSS.]

While at Halifax Audubon received a congratulatory letter from
Bachman, who urged him to visit Charleston and to bring his family.
The invitation was accepted, and early in September Audubon returned to
New York, where he immediately prepared the new drawings for dispatch
to London; thirteen of the land birds were for the completion of his
second volume, and seventeen, representing water fowl, were to form the
initial series of the third; all, as usual, were heavily insured.

Audubon left New York with his wife on September 25 and spent nearly a
month _en route_ to Charleston, while John, who intended to accompany
his father to Florida, went direct by water. Dr. Thomas L. McKenney, of
Philadelphia, in a letter to Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, said:[42]

Mr. Audubon makes no more of tracking it in all
directions over this, and I may add other countries,
than a shot star does in crossing the heavens. He goes
after winged things, but sometimes needs the aid of—at
least a few feathers, to assist him better to fly.
He means to coast it again round Florida—make a track
through Arkansas—go up the Missouri—pass on to the Rocky
Mountains, and thence to the Pacific. He will require
some of your official aid.

As a contrast to the warmth of Audubon's greeting in Philadelphia,
while in that city he was arrested for debt, and was on the point of
being taken to jail when he was offered bail by a friend. "This event,"
he said, "brings to my mind so many disagreeable thoughts connected
with my former business transactions, in which I was _always_ the
_single_ loser, that I will only add I made all necessary arrangements
to have it paid."

Four new subscribers were obtained at Baltimore, but when the
naturalist applied to Secretary Cass at Washington for the privilege of
accompanying an expedition to the Rocky Mountains under the patronage
of the Government, he met with a cool reception, and though he had
forgotten his letter from Dr. McKenney, he was resolved not to trouble
that official further. At this juncture he met Washington Irving, who
did his best to save the situation, and thought that Audubon had been
mistaken in his judgment of the Secretary; "I might have been," he
said, "but those eyes of mine have discovered more truth in men's eyes
than their mouths were willing to acknowledge." Irving accompanied him
to the offices of Mr. Taney, the Secretary of the Treasury, who at once
gave the naturalist the privileges of the revenue cutter service on the
southern coast.

At Richmond Audubon met Governor Floyd, who promised to try to induce
the legislature of his State to subscribe for a copy of the _Birds_.
From that point to Charleston we shall follow their itinerary as given
in his journal under date of October 16:[43]

We left Richmond this morning in a stage well crammed
with Italian musicians and southern merchants, arrived
at Petersburg at a late hour, dined, and were again
crammed in a car drawn by a locomotive, which dragged us
twelve miles an hour, and sent out sparks of fire enough
to keep us constantly busy in extinguishing them on our
clothes. At Blakely we were again crammed into a stage,
and dragged two miles an hour. We crossed the Roanoke
River by torchlight in a flatboat, passed through
Halifax, Raleigh, Fayetteville, and Columbia, where we
spent the night. Here I met Dr. Gibbs, at whose house
we passed the evening, and who assisted me greatly; at
his house I met President Thomas Cooper, who assured
me he had seen a rattlesnake climb a five-rail fence on
his land. I received from the treasury of the State four
hundred and fifty dollars on account of its subscription
for one copy of the "Birds of America."

For a number of years Audubon's snake stories had subjected him to
no little ridicule in certain quarters, and this notice of a climbing
rattlesnake pleased him so much that he asked the venerable president
to put his statement in writing; he willingly complied, and his
interesting letter on the subject will be given in a later chapter.[44]

When Audubon and his wife reached the Bachman home on October 24,
he was prepared to push on to the South, but changed his plans, on
account, he said, "of the removal of my good friend Captain Robert
Day from his former station to New York, and I did not like to launch
on the Florida reefs in the care of a young officer unknown to me."
The winter of 1833-4 was passed under the hospitable rooftree of his
friend, in the usual occupations of painting, writing and hunting
birds. At this time an attachment sprang up between his younger son,
John Woodhouse Audubon, and Maria Rebecca, the eldest daughter of the
Bachman household. Here Audubon wrote the first drafts of many of the
bird biographies contained in the second volume of his letterpress,
and with Bachman conducted a series of careful experiments on the
power of smell in vultures, in order to settle a question which had
then become acute among naturalists.[45] This subject is referred to
in the following intimate letter,[46] which reveals the confidence
which Audubon felt in his sons and in their united ability to bring his
great undertaking to a successful issue, as well as the infinite pains
which he bestowed upon every part of it. Audubon, who was now in his
forty-ninth year, felt that he was aging very fast, and declared that
one year then would be equal to three, three years from that time.

_Audubon to his Son, Victor_

CHARLESTON, _Dc., 24, 1833_.

MY DEAR BELOVED VICTOR:—

Your last letter to us is dated at London, 7th. Octbr.
It has given us all ample and sincere pleasure. The
copy of your reply[47] to Mons. Waterton is excellent;
that from Swainson ought to prove a death-blow to the
Demerara Gent! I hope that these letters are now before
the world, for my mortification has been great enough
respecting the blackguardism of G. Ord and others, and
yet I am heartily glad that I never paid personally
any attention to them through the press or otherwise.
Here my friends are as much shocked as myself, and the
moment is at hand when these T... will be glad to find
some hiding place to resort to, and wait for time to
obliterate their obvious jealousy and falsehood.

John Bachman and myself have begun a second series of
experiments, such as I made before, connected with the
nose-smelling of Turkey Buzzards; as far as we have gone
through them, these experiments have proved _perfectly_
satisfactory to my good friend and myself, and depend
[upon] it, from next Wednesday, the American World will
know that Turkey Buzzards are first, Gregarious, as well
as the Carrion Crow [Black Vulture], that they eat fresh
meat in preference to putrid stuff; that they eat birds,
fresh killed, either plucked or not, _even of their own
species_; that they suck birds' eggs, and devour their
callow young; that they come to their food by their
sense of sight, and not that of smell, and lastly that
they cannot discover by any sense of smell the most
putrid matter, even when this putrid stuff is within
a few feet of them, out of sight of their eyes. Were
Snakes as abundant near Charleston as Buzzards, that
business would soon be also set at rest, but for this,
however, time is required, and the time I think will
come. The experiments we are making will be repeated in
the presence of the faculty of this city,[48] and their
Certificates attached to the whole, and immediately
published in the Annals of the Philosophical Society of
Phila.[49] those of the Lyceum of New York. A copy will
be sent to be read at the Linnean, or Royal Society of
London, and Royal Institute of France; then let those
laugh who win. We have attracted Turkey Buzzards with
pieces of fresh beef, not more than an inch square, and
we have seen others pass unnoticed the body of a hare or
fowl within 20 steps. We have now 3 fine birds of this
species to experiment upon, and their olfactory nerves
will be examined by the faculty here, where there are
some highly talented men.

Our friend Bachman has written a very fine paper for
Loudon's Mag.[50] which will be forwarded to you in a
few days by duplicate, and which I wish you to give to
our friend J. G. Children, and ask him to have it read
at the R. and L. Societies, and inserted in the above
mentioned Mag. afterwards. We hope all this will be
accomplished by the 1st. March next.

Now to other subjects. We are deeply at work. John
has drawn a few Birds, as good as any I ever made, and
in a few months I hope to give this department of my
duty up to him altogether; his improvements on other
subjects are equally pleasing. I write a [biography of
a] Bird or so every evening, and our friend grants me
all his knowledge of the habits of those with which he
has become well acquainted, belonging to this part of
the Union. I have nearly _one 100_ drawings of Water
Birds ready for publication & I pronounce them equal
to any previous ones. I am much pleased at the news
you give me respecting Havell; I hope he will continue
with hand and heart to do all in his power for the fame
of our work, and for himself. We have not seen Nos.
34, 35, tho. from your letter we suppose them to be
in New York. Wm. Oakes, I have written you, has paid
all, up to No. 33; Arnold, of New Bedford, for all he
has had; John Neal has his copy, but I do not know if
he has yet paid Dr. Parkman, who is our kind friend
and agent in that part of the Country. I wish you had
forwarded _first volumes_ bound, as you had those on
hand, as several would have been disposed of and paid
for by this time; do send all, or whatever of them you
have ready, as _soon as possible_. It will be well for
you to have friend Bachm's. paper published in _toto_,
in some _good circulating paper_ in London & Edinboro.
Brushes! Brushes! Brushes! I am glad to hear of Kidd &
Co.'s publication of Parrots, but I regret that my face
should have been there from Syme's picture, which in
my estimation is none of the best. Push Kidd with the
pictures; _have them, and take care of them_. Sell all
the Shells you please; write to John Adamson, of New
Castle, about them, but keep smug all the Bird Skins.
I cannot do without them when I write my Synopsis,
which will be when I am with you. Our voyage round the
Floridas, Gulph Mexico &c. will begin about the 1st.
February. This will be my last journey, after which
John and I will hunt for Subscribers, procure a round
number, and join you as soon as possible. Your dear Mama
will in all probability join you in May or June next.
In about a fortnight I shall send you more land Birds
for the end of the 2d. volume, extra small plates, and
several _numbers_ of _Water_ Birds. I am anxious to hear
something about the little edition. Do not omit to let
me know when you want money, for tho. our expenses are
always great, _the Work_ must not, and shall not suffer,
as long as my eyes and hands can work.

Dec. 23d., last evening, we had the pleasure of yours
of the 28 Oct, and one from Havell of the 9th. Regarding
Havell, we are glad that all is well with him, and hope
he will not trouble us about extra prices, not even for
the _Water Birds_. The safe arrival of my last drawings
has relieved me of that anxiety. You are quite right on
the score of _advice_. _You_ in England, will do best
to act as you may think proper. _We_, in America, are
trying to do equally well, and our little _Alliance_ is
as efficient as the Holy one at least. That Subscribers
should die is an event we cannot help; that such fellows
as V. should act so cannot be controlled, but depend
upon our _industry_, our _truth_, and the regular manner
in which we publish our work; this will always prove
to the world and to our Patrons that nothing more can
be done than what we do; nay, I doubt if any _family_,
with our pecuniary means, ever will raise for themselves
such a monument as the "Birds of America" is, over their
tomb.

How comes it that Harlan has not money enough to pay
his expenses in Europe? I shall remember the 20 £, and
the exchange. Chamley, of New Castle, was never prompt
pay; indeed, my dear Victor, were you fully acquainted
with the great difficulties which I had to surmount and
did surmount, it would give you less fear than you now
feel or experience. We shall be glad to receive the
Brushes that are, I hope, now under way for us. Mr.
Miesson resides [at] No. 2 Rue Pigalle, on the east
side of the grand Boulevards. Present my regards to Mr.
Yarrell, and thank him in my name for his kind offer
of eggs, and add that I shall have it in my power to
present him with many which I think he has not found,
that our two collections will most likely comprise the
whole of those published in my 4 volumes. I fear that
to give the eggs in the 2d. of Biography would render
that volume too large, and again too costly, and that
a few plates of eggs at the end of the large work will
answer better.[51] The _plates_ ought to be insured for
at least 4 or 5 times the cost, for should they by an
accident be destroyed, the amount of their cost would
prove a poor remuneration, when compared with the time
it would require to have them renewed. Attend to this
as soon as you can. Henry Ward has rendered himself
very obnoxious _here_. a letter came to Mr. B. on last
evening from St. Augustine, to inquire how a certain
amount left by him unpaid was to be settled. Mr. Bachman
will inform you of the particulars.

Do forward the bound volumes as soon as possible,
for with them I could at once make you a considerable
remittance, which would enable you to prepare the Nos.
of the 2d. Vol. for those who do not wish to have it
complete. I am trying to receive some money on Act.
of the 2d. Vol. through the mediums of Dr. Parkman, N.
Berthoud, John Bellonis, Wm. Gaston, and will let you
know the result. The Plate ... which you sent me is
_extremely well_ engraved, but let us keep to Havell as
long as he behaves with propriety, and does good work.

I have now replied to your letter fully, except on what
you say about my immediate _return_. The following are
my views, but if after all, you say—come on, _I shall
do so_. Our country is becoming more wealthy every day.
Science is looked upon with more congeniality every
year. Subscribers in this Dear Country of ours do not
drop off unless they die. They pay punctually on demand,
and to have more of them in this land than in Europe is
a thing that may prove of the greatest importance _to
us_. When I visited our woods on my first return from
England, I was absent about 12 months. The Rathbones
and Mr. Children wrote to me many times to return,
or expect the work to fall. I went back to Europe
before I was ready to go, and on my arrival there, to
my surprise and joy, I found everything going on as
well as usual; but I was again obliged to come to our
Country to renew my researches, and improve my head,
as well as my collection of drawings. I had then left
no one like you in England. Now you, my Dear Son, are
there; thank God for it! You prove to be a better man
at carrying on the publication than myself, and to tell
you more, I doubt if I could procure more subscribers
there than yourself. I am truly desirous for your sake,
and that of your dear Mother and Brother, to do all
in my power for the completion of this great work. I
wish to finish here all that is to be done both in the
way of drawing, and increase of knowledge, in _black
and white_, and also in Patrons, as much as possible,
ere I return to Europe, where, when I do go, I must
remain several years, if not until the completion of the
engraving. I am growing old very fast; in 3 or 4 years
my career as a traveller will be ended, and should I be
obliged to renew my field-labours, it is doubtful if my
constitution could bear it. One year now is equal to
3, 3 years hence. I receive much assistance from the
Government, and have John to accompany me. I am still
able to undergo some fatigue, and, as I have said, I am
anxious, _very anxious_, to do all that can be done ere
I return to Europe. Now the whole time which I conceive
necessary to enable me to perform these desideratums
cannot exceed 12 or 15 months. What pleasure it would
be to us all, when I take your hand and press you to my
heart, I should also have a list of _100 new names from
America!_; all the drawings and the manuscripts ready
for the completion of this our wonderful undertaking.
I would advise you to address a circular letter to
all those who may be concerned in Europe, to acquaint
them with what _I call_ the necessity of my being in
America, for the _sole purpose_ of increasing the value
of our publications, either Illustrative or graphical.
This, and the constant improvement now exhibited to
them with each new number of the work, could not fail,
I think, to render them quiet, if not pleased, that I
am now doing all I can for the advantage of the work.
Tell them the facts, that I have greatly added to the
Ornithology of the United States since my absence from
Europe, that the number of species which I now have,
and that are not given by Wilson or Bonaparte, combined,
amounts to nearly one hundred, and that the Water Birds
will be fully equal in point of interest and beauty, to
any of the land Birds that are published. And, not the
least part of this, my remaining in America has already
[given], and will continue, to give me the power of
portraying the habits of the Water Birds with more truth
and completeness than has ever yet been done. Next, have
extracts of my letter to you, before the world's eye,
through the medium of Papers. Visit such of our friends,
and ask them to say those things to their acquaintance;
go on yourself, as you have done, and depend upon it,
we shall all be _greatly benefitted_. In your most kind
letter to John you mention with unexampled modesty what
you are attempting to do in the way of self-improvement,
but my Dear Victor, you cannot convey more thoroughly
to us the _march_ of your improvement than you have done
by sending your letters, and the result of your actions,
so well delineated as this is, and _we all_ feel deeply
gratified and most happy. Cruickshank is _right_;
by _drawing_ you are enabled to study the lights and
shadows of bodies, again the beautiful mellowness with
which, altho. all powerful in _the effect_, these blend
themselves with each other. The _reflective power of
bodies_ will also strike your discerning attention, and
when these combinations of the true Materia are well
understood, the artist is a Master! Nature after all,
has done all for us; she groups, and most beautifully,
every thing that is presented to our eye or mind,
so completely also, that if one observes a number of
bodies, no matter what these bodies are, whether horses
or apes, he sees at once the general elegance of their
arrangement in _contour_, the force of the light and
shadows, the mellowness existing between these, and
as the eye passes on to the finishing of that natural
picture, it at once pronounces it complete.

Do not forget to take from Kidd whatever pictures of
ours he may have finished, and take good care of them.
We have pretty nearly kilt G. Ord and Waterton with our
Buzzard experiments. You say you wish you could see us
at friend Bachman's; I assure you my pleasure at such
an event would be equal to yours. We are indeed happy
in having such a friend. Miss Martin, with her superior
talents, assists us greatly in the way of drawing;
the insects she has drawn are, perhaps, the best I've
seen; at night we have some music and reading. When you
receive Bird Skins, perhaps it would be as well to form
a collection of each species in pairs, and variety of
age or color.

24 Dec. We have just received yours of 18th. October.
You are, my Dear Son, too low spirited respecting my
immediate appearance in England. Cheer up, my beloved
Victor! Believe me, when I repeat that our own Dear
Country will support the efforts of us all, and will
grant us more Patrons than the whole of Europe together;
by the way of a nightcap, let me give you the name of
Wm. J. Rees, of Sumpter district, Statesbury, South
Carolina, who put his name to my list this afternoon
at the moment when the Vultures lost their olfactory
powers, for I daubed the imitation of a sheep, and the
very first one that passed over the picture rounded and
came to it.

Respecting Kidd, and his prospectus, depend upon it,
nothing is to be feared from that quarter; that work is
_dead at the moment I write_, and as to his publishing
the intention of the pictures, it signifies nothing.
All you have to do is to _take all_ the pictures from
him, _by goodwill or otherwise_, and _give him no more
originals to copy_.

If I regret anything at this moment, it is that you
should have kept the 20 volumes in London, when, if I
had them in America, I should at once be enabled to make
you a valuable remittance. Ship them, ensured, as fast
as possible, and doubt not my disposing of them. Lewis
Atterbury writes me to night that all the numbers 34,
35, which Havell has shipped, are injured greatly by
salt water. I do not know yet if they were insured or
not. I write to him this evening. Do not ship anything
without insurance; it is better to lose time in this
case than money. I will write again in a few days, and I
shall forward you _Water Birds_ in good time. God bless
you, my dear fellow; keep up your spirits, and again may
God bless you.

Ever your affectionate father,

J. J. AUDUBON.

Honest John Bachman, who had lived and worked with Audubon for months
at a time, and who probably knew him better than did any one in America
outside of the naturalist's own family, gave this account of his habits
in 1834, when, at the age of forty-nine, he was still working at his
best:

He rises at the earliest dawn, and devotes the whole of
the day, in intense industry, to his favourite pursuit.
The specimens from which he makes his drawings are all
from nature; carefully noting the colors of the eye,
bill, and legs; measuring, with great accuracy, every
part of the bird. When differences exist, either in the
sexes or young, several figures are given on the same
plate; sparing no labour in retouching old drawings or
in making new ones, in all cases where he conceives
there may be a possibility of making an improvement.
In this way, he has already succeeded in figuring
nearly the whole of the birds necessary to complete his
splendid and important work.

He keeps a journal, and regularly notes down every
thing connected with natural history. This journal
is always kept in English: a language which, it must
be acknowledged he writes very correctly, when it is
taken into consideration that he spent nearly the first
seventeen years of his life in France. Besides this,
he keeps separate journals, in which he notes every
thing that he learns each day on the habits of every
bird. In all his travels, he carries these journals
with him; and he never suffers business, fatigue, or
pleasure to prevent him each evening from noting down
every interesting observation. In this way, a mass of
information has been accumulated from year to year. When
he sits down to write the history of a bird (which is
usually in the evening), he first reads over all the
memoranda which he has made with regard to its habits
and he is generally able to write an interesting paper
on the subject in the course of an evening. At some
leisure moment this is again revised and corrected: the
scientific details he leaves to the last.

Early in March, 1834, Audubon left his friends in Charleston, and with
his wife and son passed northward to Washington and Baltimore. From the
latter city, on March 9, he wrote to Edward Harris, in part as follows:

Friends such as you _have been_, and _are_ still, are
the only recompense such poor individuals such as I am
can enjoy in this world, and the more valued as they are
so very rare.

We came from Charleston by land to Norfolk; thence to
Washington City by steamer in 20 hours, and in 8 to the
city here, well fatigued but safely.... At Washington,
where we remained only an hour, Col. J. Abert told me
something connected with the climbing of Rattlesnakes
upon trees &c. that will make your mouth water, and your
generous heart leap with joy, _when you read_ [about]
them, which you shall do ere long, I give you my word
for it.

Audubon was still in Baltimore on March 15, for on that day he gave
Harris a letter of introduction to Edward Everett. New York was reached
in April, when he wrote to Bachman that they had secured berths in
"that fine packet ship the _North America_," which was to sail on the
tenth of that month.

[Illustration: J.G. CHILDREN

AFTER AN ENGRAVING BY W. RADDON OF A PORTRAIT BY EDDIS, 1839.]

[Illustration: EDWARD HARRIS

REPRODUCED FROM "CASSINIA" FOR 1902.]

Toward the close of Audubon's Charleston visit he had an unpleasant
experience; he was sued for an old debt, which no doubt dated from his
Henderson period and the failure of his mill in 1819.[52] Apparently
the case was carried into court, where the naturalist was defended by
a lawyer named Dunkin, who, if my inference is correct, later became a
distinguished judge and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court[53] of South
Carolina. The incident was referred to by Audubon in letters written
from New York at this time; on April 6, he wrote to Miss Maria Martin
as follows:

I told friend Bach. in my letter of yesterday that
I knew nothing of Mr. Pettigrue, connected with my
business at Charleston, and that if that gentleman had
presented himself before the court, it must have been
for charity's sake; indeed, from the conversations
that passed between Friend B. & I respecting Mr. Dunker
[Dunkin], it would have been absurd in me to think for
a moment of employing any other person than Mr. D.

In the letter just quoted Audubon said also that he had spent all of
the morning of the previous day in going from shop to shop with friend
Harris to procure some models for "the dear girls," but in vain; New
York with its two hundred and fifty thousand souls, possessed but two
drawing masters; "these instruct in _3 months_," he added, "and starve
for the nine of the year." In reference to financial matters, he said
that he had managed to collect about £600 sterling, and had sent 500
to Victor in bills of exchange, so that when they reached London, they
would be tolerably well off, considering that they were "naturalists
from the wilds of America." "Nothing starts the blues so effectually,"
he continued, as "constant unemployment; for myself who have done next
to nothing since I left you, have had horrors all around me; dreams
of sinking and burning ships at night, fears of lost drawings, &
failures of subscribers by day, have ever and anon been my companions."
"Victor," he added, "has sent 6 boxes of pills, which will be divided
into 3 parts, the largest for G. Ord."

The Audubons finally sailed from New York on April 16, 1834. On the
preceding day the naturalist sent his friend, Edward Harris, a parting
letter, in which he said:

To tell you that I am surprised at your generous conduct
in remitting to me Four hundred, Ninety dollars in
advance, for all the numbers of my book, would be a
poor gratification to me. I feel your generosity, and I
cannot say any more. God bless you.

Nos. 36 & 37 have reached this place; my drawings
shipped from Charleston are safely in the hands of
Victor at London. I have been able to forward him 650
£, and I have 30 sovereigns to defray our expenses
from Liverpool to the Great Metropolis. In 1824, poor
J. had dreams, but how far was I then from believing
that I should ever have succeeded as I have; who will
believe my story? Only one or two besides yourself, have
_an Idea_ of what I have undergone, but, if God grants
me life, I shall publish that story, and send you the
sheets thereof, as they are struck by the printer.

Audubon took with him to England all the collections which he
had accumulated during nearly three years of travel and search in
different parts of the United States and the British possessions.
During this eventful period he had renewed one hundred of his older
drawings, executed many new ones, discovered new birds, extended his
acquaintance, and added sixty-two names to his list of patrons.

After they had reached Liverpool, he wrote to Bachman, May 8, 1834,
that they had returned on the "superb packet of 650 tons, called the
_North America_, commanded by an admirable gentleman, named Dixie of
Philadelphia"; the voyage was made in not quite twenty days. A little
later they joined their son, Victor, in London.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THORNS ON THE ROSE

We have seen that John James Audubon had attended the school of
adversity many years before he was known to the public in either
America or Europe. The difficulties inseparable from such colossal
undertakings as that in which he engaged were well nigh insuperable;
but to these were added others which perhaps might have been avoided
but which could hardly have been foreseen. From the moment he began to
write for publication, he was bitterly and persistently assailed by a
number of detractors, who seemed bent upon ruining his reputation and
thus undermining the work to which he was devoting his life and upon
which he depended as a means of support.

Were no worthy purpose to be served, it would be folly to resurrect the
animosities of a past generation, but since a few "fed fat the ancient
grudge they bore him," and since this hostility, handed down through
the years, is occasionally echoed at the present day, the impartial
historian is left no choice; he must weigh the merits of the case to
the best of his ability. The reader, I think, will find that the law of
compensation has worked fairly well in respect to all these matters,
for if Audubon possessed faults, he was not lacking in merits; if he
was assailed by a few bitter enemies, he was supported by a host of
judicious friends.

As soon as Audubon became known in England, he was importuned to
contribute to the scientific magazines, and in response to this demand
wrote five articles, which were published in Edinburgh and London
in 1827. Some of these papers, which dealt with the habits of the
Turkey Vulture, the Alligator, the Carrion Crow or Black Vulture,
the Wild Pigeon, and the Rattlesnake,[54] were roundly scored in the
Philadelphia press, and Audubon was called a romancer of the first
order. Thomas Sully, the artist, who was then living in that city and
who had taken a deep interest in the naturalist since their meeting in
1824, wrote in November, 1827, and told him what had occurred. Since
Audubon's reply was practically the only answer which he ever made to
attacks of this sort, and since his friend was given permission to make
such use of it as he saw fit, we shall reproduce this letter nearly
entire.[55] In writing to his wife on the same day Audubon said: "Now
my Lucy, I am going to answer Sully's letter; it is no difficult task,
so far as truth be connected with my answer, but as regards my feelings
it is perhaps the severest one I have had to encounter for many years."

_Audubon to Thomas Sully_

LIVERPOOL, _Decr 22, 1837_.

MY DEAR MR. SULLY:—

I received from your truly friendly letter of the 7th.
of November the long wished for intelligence that you
and your family were well. I am not much astonished that
in Philadelphia, remarks such as you allude to, should
have been made respecting some papers on the habits
of objects of Natural History, read by me to different
institutions in this country, but I am grieved at it.

The greatest portion of my life has been devotedly spent
in the _active_ investigation of Nature, her beauties
& her objects in granting to different individuals,
classes, or species, such privileges as best suit
their form, situation, or habits. This arduous task I
have followed with unremitting diligence, and with a
degree of industry that has caused to my family and to
myself more troubles than any person in Philadelphia
can be aware of. For more than 20 years I have been
in _the regular habit_ of writing down every day all
the incidents of which I have been an _eye-witness_,
on the spot, & without confiding to my memory, as
many travellers have done and still do. You have read
some portion of this journal, and have also been an
eye-witness of many of the occurrences, and to this I
now owe the gratification of possessing your esteem,
but, My dear Mr. Sully, you are not the only evidence.
Mr. Joseph Mason, who is now, I believe, an artist
in your city, accompanied me on a hunting excursion,
beginning at Cincinati, and ending in the State of
Louisiana, which lasted 18 months. He drew with me; he
was my _daily companion_, and we both rolled ourselves
together on bufaloe robes at night. James Cummings,
Esq., past captain, the author of a treatise on the
navigation of the rivers Ohio and Mississippi, was one
of the party, and he saw me write in my Journal, and
read it frequently. Every member of my family has seen
the whole of those Diaries and could readily assert the
truth of the whole of their contents, to many of which
they were party, present and acting.

The papers alluded to in your estimable letter, are
merely copies from those journals; they were transcribed
in Edinburgh, and the style corrected by patrons, who
saw the originals, nearly worn out by time and the
casual dampness, which journals like mine must often
be exposed to. I read these papers to the different
societies, of which I have the honor to be a member, and
read them with a sensation of pleasure that nothing but
a full persuasion of their truth could bestow.

Those persons in Philadelphia that have felt a desire
to contradict my assertions cannot, without lowering
themselves very much indeed affect to conceive that the
members of the Wernerian Society would have listened to
my "say so," without investigating the subject, even
if they had not been well versed in the habits of the
objects I treated of. Neither can they believe that
all my acquaintance and particular friends would permit
me to proceed in relating _Tales of Wonder_, which if
untrue, would load me with disgrace, ruin my family,
nay, prove me devoid of all honor! Could I suffer myself
to be so blinded at the very moment when I am engaged
in the publication of a work of unparalled magnitude, of
which the _greatest naturalists and best judges_ both in
America and in Europe have given the fullest praise and
firmest support, & from which my very means of pecuniary
comfort are to be drawn? It would certainly be highly
unfair to conceive & assert that at the time whilst
I was portraying individuals, animal and vegetable,
I should have rambled so wide and so far from facts
in a portion of science so intimately connected with
& necessary to the support of those delineations, as
well as to the general standing of my reputation! Mere
interest would suggest a very contrary line of conduct,
and I hope I am not so devoid of common sense as to
lose sight of all that can render life desirable in this
world or the world hereafter.

No, my dear Mr. Sully, I have written with care what
I have seen, and have felt a great desire to spread
the knowledge I have obtained in the great field of
Science for the benefit of the world at large, and I
rest content with this motto: "Le temps découvrira
la vérité." To whom then, my dear Mr. Sully, can I
ascribe the birth of the animadversions expressed in
the papers of Philadelphia! Is their author one [who]
comes avowedly forward with a life spent in the woods,
loaded with facts differing in every respect from mine,
one who like me can bring forth vouchers, and who can
by respectable witnesses support what he says? Or, is he
one, who, writing at random and without any knowledge of
his subject, merely wishes to push himself into notice
by a blunt denial of my veracity, and would _edify_
& _please_ some of his friends, at the price of my
reputation. I think, my dear Mr. Sully, the latter much
more applicable, and must belong to the author of the
report current in your city.

I have not read any of the Philadelphia papers since I
came to England, and do not know the tone of the attacks
upon me, but judging from your friendly letter, I feel
assured that the pen that traced them must have been
dipped in venom more noxious than that which flows from
the jaws of the rattlesnake!

To you, my dear Friend, I solemly affirm that however
unnatural my observations may _appear_, they are all
_facts_, without a word of exaggeration. My fate in
this instance differs not from that of many others,
but believe me, will differ widely from that of the
illustrious Bruce; those attacks will not make me die of
sorrow!

With this, my dear Friend, I will close the subject,
giving you meanwhile full liberty to use this letter in
any manner that may best suit your feelings, and I will
now pass on to other things.

My success in the mother country continues to augment
apace. I have many most valuable friends and patrons,
and discovered soon after my landing that Science has
no particular country. The 5th. number of my work is
now published, & completes my labor for 1827. During
my progress I have often received letters from highly
distinguished characters, expressive of the highest
approbation, & I hope by regular industry to be able
to go on with the performance, with credit to myself &
benefit to my family.

I shall leave this town for London in a few days, when I
will convey your wishes to Robert Sully, & [when] there
I hope to see the picture which you have sent to the
Marquis of Wellesley....

The attack referred to in the letter just quoted was called forth by
Audubon's unfortunate paper on the Rattlesnake,[56] which was read
before the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh in the winter of 1827 and
published by Robert Jameson in the _New Philosophical Journal_ in April
of that year. The controversy then started was long and bitter, while
the merits of neither side were ever fully established; in the history
which follows we shall see that the naturalist was, on the whole, more
sinned against than sinning.

In July, 1828, Dr. Thomas P. Jones[57] appropriated Audubon's
Rattlesnake article, and published it without acknowledgment in the
_Franklin Journal and American Mechanics' Magazine_ at Philadelphia.
It should be noticed that at the close of 1827 Audubon's famous plate
of the Mocking Birds defending their nest against the sinister designs
of this formidable reptile had also been published in London. In this
remarkable picture the rattlesnake was represented coiled about the
nest, at the fatal moment when ready to strike its bold defenders,
and in a tree. The anomaly was apparent, for the climbing habits of
rattlesnakes were not then generally understood. This circumstance,
together with some of Audubon's notes, repeated in certain cases from
stories current in rural communities, furnished his detractors with
a powerful lever, which they seized with avidity; snakes coiled in
trees seemed suddenly to have produced a brood of another order which
lurked in the grass, and it was many years before Audubon heard the
last of his snake stories. The attack in the American press was laid
to the door of George Ord, and it was not long before it was renewed
with great vigor by his friend and correspondent in England, Charles
Waterton, who proclaimed Audubon as a new and greater Münchhausen.[58]

[Illustration:

JOHN BACHMAN GEORGE ORD
SAMUEL LATHAM MITCHELL CHARLES WATERTON

BACHMAN FROM C. L. BACHMAN, "JOHN BACHMAN, D.D., LL.D."; ORD FROM
"CASSINIA" FOR 1908; MITCHELL AFTER AN ENGRAVING BY GAMBER AND
DICK OF A PORTRAIT BY HENRY INMAN; WATERTON FROM MOORE'S EDITION OF
WATERTON'S "ESSAYS."]

Dr. Jones immediately repudiated the article which he had
unceremoniously appropriated, and under the title of "The Romance of
the Rattlesnake" inserted the following notice in the August number of
his magazine:[59]

Just as the Editor was leaving Philadelphia for
Washington, he was pressed for "more copy" by his
printer, and hastily marked some articles for insertion,
among which were "Notes on the Rattlesnake," by John
James Audubon, F.R.S.E., M.W.S., &c. Time did not
admit of reading the article, but it was seen that the
writer professed to offer the "fruits of many years'
observation, in countries where snakes abound." This
with his titles, and the bold and splendid assurances
which we had seen respecting the publication of
his works, served as a password to his tissues of
falsehoods, which would have been expunged from the
proof, but for absence from the press.

We had determined to publish a notice like the
foregoing, when we received a note from a scientific
friend, whose remarks are, at once, so pointed and
correct, and so fully express our own ideas upon the
subject, that we gladly adopt and insert them.

It is a tissue of the grossest falsehoods ever attempted
to be palmed upon the credulity of mankind, and it is
a pity that any thing like countenance should be given
to it, by reproducing it in a respectable Journal.
The romances of Audubon rival those of Münchausen,
Mandeville, or even Mendez de Pinto, in the total want
of truth, however short they may fall of them in the
amusement they afford.

This was rather a stiff charge to be made flatly against the reputation
of any one without the most careful investigation, even upon the
authority of "a scientific friend." Let us see, then, what basis, if
any, really existed for such sweeping charges. In the paper which
caused the trouble Audubon had described in great detail how he
had seen a large rattlesnake pursue, capture, kill by constriction,
and devour a gray squirrel. Before quoting his description of this
singular encounter, we shall recall a passage which Audubon wrote in
his journal at the time when it occurred,[60] when he was at "Oakley,"
the plantation of James Pirrie at St. Francisville, Bayou Sara, in the
summer of 1821: "August 25. Finished drawing a very fine specimen of a
rattlesnake, which measured five feet and seven inches, weighed six and
a quarter pounds, and had ten rattles. Anxious to give it a position
most interesting to a naturalist, I put it in that which the reptile
commonly takes when on the point of striking madly with its fangs."
After describing a rough dissection which he made of the rattlesnake's
dental arsenal and poison apparatus, he added: "The heat of the weather
was such that I could devote only sixteen hours to the drawing." The
drawing thus referred to was undoubtedly used in the composition of his
celebrated plate.

To revert now to a mooted passage in Audubon's published paper:

Rattlesnakes hunt and secure for their prey, with ease,
grey squirrels that abound in our woods; therefore they
must be possessed of swiftness to obtain them. Having
enjoyed the pleasure of beholding such a chase in full
view in the year 1821, I shall detail its circumstances.
Whilst lying on the ground to watch the habits of a bird
that was new to me, previous to shooting it, I heard
a smart rustling not far from me, and turning my head
that way, saw, at the same moment, a grey squirrel full
grown, issuing from a thicket, and bouncing off in a
straight direction, in leaps of several feet at a time,
and, not more than twenty feet behind, a rattlesnake of
ordinary size, pursuing, drawn apparently out to its
full length, and sliding over the ground so rapidly
that, as they both moved away from me, I was at no
loss to observe the snake gain upon the squirrel. The
squirrel made for a tree, and ascended to its topmost
branches as nimbly as squirrels are known to do. The
snake performed the same task considerably more slowly,
yet so fast that the squirrel never raised its tail nor
barked, but eyed the enemy attentively as he mounted and
approached. When within a few yards the squirrel leaped
to another branch, and the snake followed by stretching
full two-thirds of its body, whilst the remainder held
it securely from falling. Passing thus from branch to
branch, with a rapidity that astonished me, the squirrel
went in and out of several holes, but remained in none,
knowing well that, wherever its head could enter, the
body of its antagonist would follow; and, at last, much
exhausted and terrified, took a desperate leap, and came
to the earth with legs and tail spread to the utmost to
ease the fall. That instant the snake dropt also, and
was within a few yards of the squirrel before it began
making off. The chase on land again took place, and
ere the squirrel could reach another tree, the snake
had seized it by the back near the occiput, and soon
rolled itself about it in such a way that, although
I heard the cries of the victim, I scarcely saw any
portion of its body. So full of its ultimate object
was the snake, that it paid no attention to me, and I
approached it to see in what manner it would dispose of
its prey. A few minutes elapsed, and I saw the reptile
loosening gradually and opening its folded coils, until
the squirrel was left entirely disengaged, having been
killed by suffocation. The snake then raised a few
inches of its body from the ground, and passed its head
over the dead animal in various ways to assure itself
that life had departed; it then took the end of the
squirrel's tail, swallowed it gradually, bringing first
one and then the other of the hind legs parallel with
it, and sucked with difficulty, and for some time, at
them and the rump of the animal, until its jaws became
so expanded, that, after this, it swallowed the whole
remaining parts with apparent ease.

Audubon then described the appearance that the snake presently assumed,
which suggested "a rouleau of money, brought from both ends of a purse
towards its centre," and its ineffectual attempts to move off; "when
having cut a twig," he continued, "I went up to it, and tapped it on
the head, which it raised, as well as its tail, and began for the first
time to rattle."

Now every careful reader of this remarkable story, provided he is at
all conversant with the habits of snakes, will perceive that it could
not possibly have been invented, for it is strictly and minutely in
accord with facts, except in one important particular; the snake
whose behavior Audubon watched and so accurately described was
not the rattlesnake, but the blue racer or black snake (_Bascanion
constrictor_); substitute "blue racer," for "rattlesnake," and this
record is photographically correct.[61] The black snake does all the
things which are here so minutely described—pursuing its prey with
astounding agility, constricting about it as a prelude to swallowing
it, ascending trees readily, coiling when brought to bay as if about
to strike, and even vibrating the tip of its tail on the ground or
leaves, as if in emulation of the genuine rattler, a kind of behavior
which was looked upon by Darwin as a case of protective mimicry. No one
could have known the rattlesnake better than Audubon from his constant
encounters with it in the field; he made drawings of it, dissected its
poison apparatus, and had kept it for months in confinement in order to
study its habits; but by some curious twist of his notes or his memory,
or led astray by the record made of the rattling habit, the species
became confused in his published account. His error was gross and he
paid dearly for it, but it certainly does not prove him to be the king
of nature fakirs.

Audubon's critics were probably right in affirming that the rattlesnake
never ascends trees for the purpose of destroying birds, but some
overshot the mark by denying that the reptile was able to climb at all.
Nor could it have been said with greater justice that the brilliant
but sluggish coral snake (_Elaps fulvius_), which Audubon had also
placed in a tree,[62] really never aspires to this distinction.
When the snake controversy was waxing warm in America, a number of
Audubon's friends, including Colonel John J. Abert[63] and Richard C.
Taylor,[64] investigated the question and proved that the rattlesnake
was a ready climber at certain times of the year and under certain
conditions, a fact which is now better known. Mr. Taylor's party in
the course of explorations in the Alleghanies killed forty-one large
rattlesnakes during the month of August on a single ridge bordering
the Lycoming Valley, and in rendering his report, this geologist said:
"I have repeatedly endeavored to verify Mr. Audubon's account of the
rattlesnake ascending trees, which has been confirmed."

We have already referred to Audubon's meeting with Thomas Cooper
at Columbia, South Carolina, in October, 1833. This versatile man,
sometime English lawyer, revolutionist in France, friend of Priestley,
judge in the Court of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania, professor of
chemistry in Dickinson College as well as in the University of
Pennsylvania, and at this time president of South Carolina College at
Columbia, was able to confirm Audubon's account of the climbing habit
of the rattlesnake, and probably wrote this statement at his request:

[Illustration: DR. THOMAS COOPER. After a contemporary silhouette.]

_Thomas Cooper to Audubon_

COLUMBIA S. CAROLINA
_Octr 21. 1833_

MR AUDUBON

DEAR SIR

About three weeks ago, my son and two of my black
servants, observed a very large rattle snake climbing up
the fence that separates my garden from the road, at my
country house. The snake put himself in the attitude of
striking; whereupon one of the men ran for a gun, and
shot the snake on the last rail but one of the fence.
The snake was 4.3 long; as thick as my wrist, and had
seven rattles.

I am Dear Sir
Your obedient servant

THOMAS COOPER

Waterton maintained that Audubon's drawing of the rattlesnake, to which
we have referred, was a monstrosity, "a fabulous Hydra, with its eyes
starting out of their sockets," and a point repeatedly ridiculed was
his representation of the fangs as slightly recurved, or bent up at
their tips. Who had ever heard of such an anomaly? Certainly not the
doughty lord of "Walton Hall," who declared that the fangs of poisonous
snakes were always curved like a scythe, with their points bent
downwards. Waterton prided himself on his knowledge of these reptiles,
and certainly was not lacking in self-confidence. According to his own
account, he went eleven months in the forests of Brazil without shoe or
stocking to his foot, and on a certain occasion in London secured with
his hands and removed from its cage a live rattlesnake; but, like so
many sophisticated writers on natural history, he took to analogy like
a duck to water.

Waterton's statement sounds plausible enough, but obviously could be
proved only by extensive observations and comparisons. When Audubon
was proceeding up Galveston Bay to Houston, Texas, in the spring
of 1837, with his son, John, and Edward Harris, they stopped at the
plantation of Colonel James Morgan, near Red Fish Bar. "There, among
other rarities," said he, "we procured a fine specimen of the climbing
rattlesnake with _recurved_ fangs, which with several others of the
same kind, is now in my possession."[65] In writing to Thomas M.
Brewer, from Charleston, on June 12 of this year, he alluded to this
subject as follows: "I must not forget to say to you that I had the
good fortune to procure specimens of my 'Climbing Rattlesnake with
DOUBLE _recurved fangs_' which, I am told, will prove a new genus! and
therefore the Messrs. Ord and Waterton—_good souls!_—will be perfectly
delighted at the sight of this strange reptile."[66] Unfortunately
a large part of Audubon's collections made upon this expedition were
lost. I have seen no other reference to this extraordinary peculiarity,
and there the matter seems to have rested until the present time.

Audubon's judgment or memory might play him false, but his pencil, in
such a matter, could be relied upon to tell the truth. It is therefore
a pleasure to be able to confirm his accuracy in reference to the
serpent's tooth, for the true representation of which he was roundly
abused during his lifetime. The reader will perceive the point by
examining the accompanying photograph, which represents the skull
of a large diamond-backed specimen from Florida.[67] In the prairie
rattlesnake, and probably in some others, the fangs are sickle-shaped,
as Waterton maintained, but upwards of eleven species of rattlesnakes
have been found on the continent of North America, and, true to
Audubon's disputed drawing and account, in this Florida specimen the
fangs are _slightly_, but _very distinctly, bent upwards at their
tips_! Let nature writers, inclined to the easy path of analogy,
remember the rattlesnake's fang, for it teaches a salutary lesson.

[Illustration: VINDICATION OF AUDUBON'S REPRESENTATION OF THE FANGS
OF THE SOUTHERN RATTLESNAKE: ABOVE, DETAIL OF THE "MOCKING BIRDS,"
PLATE XXI (UNCOLORED) OF "THE BIRDS OF AMERICA"; BELOW, THE SKULL
OF A RECENT FLORIDA SPECIMEN, SHOWING THE SAME RECURVATURE OF
FANG.]

As I have not hesitated to speak of Audubon's real or supposed
mistakes, I will give another and more striking instance of his tardy
vindication. In his plate of the American Swan (No. ccccxi), which was
published in 1838, there is represented a yellow water lily, under the
name of _Nymphaea lutea_. Since this lily was then quite unknown to
botanists, it was ignored and treated as a fable, or as an extravagant
vagary of the naturalist's imagination, until the summer of 1876, when
it was rediscovered in Florida by Mrs. Mary Treat. Audubon's long lost
lily was then identified and acknowledged by Professor Asa Gray, the
botanist, who, with poetic justice, proposed to rename it after the
discredited enthusiast, in view of the fact that it had been originally
discovered and faithfully depicted by him a generation before.

While the snake controversy was acute in America, another of a purely
academic character, which assumed even wider proportions, was started
on the smelling powers of the vulture. We have already seen a reference
to this in the naturalist's letter to his son, Victor, written at
Charleston, where he was conducting with Bachman a new series of
experiments to settle the question.[68] The idea, commonly accepted,
that the scavengers of the Southern States were possessed of a keenness
of scent comparable with that of a beagle hound, had been vigorously
combated by Audubon, who showed by numerous experiments[69] that they
were guided to their prey by the sense of sight only; thus it was found
that they would come readily to the effigy of a calf or sheep painted
on canvas and set up in plain view, or to a skin stuffed with straw,
but failed to detect their quarry when the dead bodies of these animals
were placed on the ground and screened from their eyes, if only by the
thinnest cover, though the carrion was calling loudly to the nose but
a fraction of an inch away. An attack by Waterton,[70] who hurried to
the fray whenever a statement in his jealously guarded _Wanderings_
was called in question, led to a lively tilt, in which the advocates
of the nose and the eyes were sometimes humorously referred to as
the "Nosarians" and the "Anti-Nosarians," some of the most eminent
anatomists of the day eventually taking part.

Bachman felt keenly the aspersions which were cast upon his friend,
and in the winter of 1833 he undertook with Audubon the series of
experiments to which we have referred. The tests which were then made
supported Audubon's statements in every particular, and the faculty of
the Medical College of South Carolina were invited as a body to witness
them; this they did willingly, and the following memorial signed by all
the witnesses present was published by Bachman in 1834.[71]

We, the subscribers, having witnessed several of the
experiments made on the habits of the vultures of South
Carolina (_Cathartes aura_ and _C. atratus_), commonly
called the turkey buzzard and the carrion crow, feel
assured that these species respectively are gregarious,
the individuals of each species associating and feeding
together; that they devour fresh as well as putrid food
of any kind, and that they are guided to their food
altogether through their sense of sight, and not of
smell.

In a letter written to Ord, on March 4, 1834, Waterton said:

You will see that the Charleston parson [Bachman],
Doctors, Surgeons and Professors are up in arms against
me and are determined to cut off the Vulture's nose.
But do not be alarmed for me, I promise you that I
will answer them to your heart's content and tomorrow
I shall send up a paper to Loudon for his May number
which will make your Philosophers appear very small and
put Audubon's claim to literature and ornithology in so
clear a light that no one will be in doubt hereafter....
Audubon's gulled friends and supporters in London are in
the highest spirits and feel sure that I cannot answer
the Charleston letter. By the first of May next their
crowing will cease.

When anatomists came to consider the question and found that well
developed olfactory lobes and nerves were present in these birds,
they favored the theory of smell,[72] and Edinger has more recently
expressed the opinion that this consideration renders the possession
of an olfactory sense in such birds highly probable. His contention is
weakened, however, by the fact that granivorous and insectivorous birds
also possess true olfactory nerves, and yet are proved by experiment
to have little or no effective sense of smell. It is a problem for
students of behavior to solve, and so far as the American vultures are
concerned, Audubon's and Bachman's experiments, I believe, have never
been repeated or extended with sufficient care to settle the question.
The little that has been done, however, suggests that while the vulture
in its daily and never ending search for food is mainly guided by its
keen eyes, the nose, possibly, may be a coöperating factor when the
wind and other conditions are favorable.

While critics were driving the pen, Audubon was hard at work in the
field, but his friends did not long remain silent. Favorable notices
of his work, actual or prospective, had appeared in the scientific and
literary press of England, by David Brewster, Robert Jameson, William
Swainson, and "Christopher North" of _Blackwood's Magazine_. The first
American notice appeared in the _American Journal of Science_ for
1829, and this was followed by G. W. Featherstonhaugh, the English
geologist, in his recently established but short-lived _Monthly
American Journal of Geology and Natural Science_, to which we have
already referred.[73] A little later the London _Athenæum_ gave the
first of eleven extended articles on Audubon's work; in reviewing his
second volume of letterpress, which appeared in 1834, the writer said:
"There is amply sufficient remaining in Audubon's pages for fully a
dozen more notices, were we disposed to follow the exhausting system.
We have admired Audubon's gorgeous drawings, but our interest in them
has been increased a thousand fold, in knowing that they are the spoils
of a life's campaign."[74] Again a series of able articles was started
by a just critic, W. B. O. Peabody, in the _North American Review_
for April, 1832.[75] Featherstonhaugh deserves credit for having given
Audubon a fair hearing at a critical time, when baiting the American
Woodsman was a popular pastime in certain circles at Philadelphia; in
reviewing the _Ornithological Biography_ in 1832, this plain spokesman
gave what he called "a true history of a conspiracy, got up to utterly
break down and ruin the reputation of one of the most remarkable men
America ever produced."[76]

Audubon's silence under fire of hostile criticism tempted someone
in the capacity of a reporter to call on him in London to obtain,
if possible, a personal statement, but his lips were then sealed and
he would only say: "Had I wished to invent marvels, I need not have
stirred from my garret in New York or London." However, in writing
to Featherstonhaugh from Bulowville, East Florida, December 31, 1831,
Audubon made this comment:[77]

If I did not believe the day to be gone by when it was
necessary to defend my snake stories, I could send you
many curious accounts of the habits of those reptiles;
and I should do it, if it were not that I might be
thought to enjoy—too much that triumph which the
feeble hostility of three or four selfish individuals
has forced upon me. I receive so many acts of real
friendship and disinterested kindness, that, I thank
God, there is no room left in my heart to cherish unkind
feelings towards any one. Indeed, I am not now so much
surprised at the incredulity of persons who do not
leave cities, for I occasionally hear of things which
even stagger me, who am so often a denizen of woods
and swamps. What do you think of rattlesnakes taking
to the water, and swimming across inlets and rivers?
I have not seen this, but I believe it; since the most
respectable individuals assure me they have frequently
been eye-witnesses of this feat. I can conceive of
inducements which reptiles may have for traversing
sheets of water to gain dry land, especially in a
country much intersected by streams, and subject to
inundations, which compel them to be often in the water.
In such countries, it is not an uncommon occurrence
to find snakes afloat and at great distances from the
shore. This appears, no doubt, surprising to those
who live where there is almost nothing but dry land;
still they ought to be good natured, and believe what
others have seen. It has now been made notorious, that
numerous respectable individuals, whom duty, or the love
of adventure, have led into the woods of our country,
have often seen snakes—and the rattlesnake too—in trees;
the good people, therefore, who pass their lives in
stores and counting houses, ought not to contradict
these facts, because they do not meet with rattlesnakes,
hissing and snapping at them from the paper mulberries,
as they go home to their dinners....

Audubon's most persistent heckler was Charles Waterton,[78] who during
two of his most prolific years, 1833 and 1834, published no less
than fourteen lucubrations against the "foreigner," and "stranger"
as the American was called; all were characterized by quizzing
interrogatories, shallow criticism and personal vituperation, for
the most part unworthy of serious consideration. Long noted for his
eccentricities, Waterton had little or no standing among English
zoölogists, against many of whom, from time to time, he issued
broadsides or breezy polemics, whenever their statements cast a shadow
on his _Wanderings_. Some of these accusing articles were answered
by Victor Audubon and other friends of the naturalist, but they never
drew his own fire; probably they benefited him in the end, for when it
appeared that the charges brought against him were in large measure the
work of envious calumniators, a strong current set in his favor on both
sides of the Atlantic.

When Audubon's name was first proposed for membership in the Academy of
Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, it was rejected, according to report,
through the influence of George Ord and a few of his partisans, while
Waterton, who was Mr. Ord's close friend and correspondent, affirmed
that Audubon was rejected by the Society on the strength of Alexander
Wilson's personal diary,[79] a statement which appears to be utterly
incredible.[80]

In 1833, two years after the first volume of Audubon's "Biography of
Birds" had made its appearance, Waterton raised another controversy,
in this instance with ammunition supplied by his friend, George Ord
of Philadelphia. He boldly proclaimed[81] that Audubon was not the
author of the work which bore his name, a charge similar to that which
had been brought to the door of the French ornithologist, Le Vaillant,
whose history resembled Audubon's in many ways. "I request the English
reader," said Waterton, "to weigh well in his own mind what I have
stated, and I flatter myself that he will agree with me, when I affirm
that the correct and elegant style of composition which appears through
the _whole of the Biography of Birds_ cannot possibly be that of him
whose name it bears." Waterton maintained that, while Audubon's earlier
papers were the work of an illiterate person, his _Biography_ betrayed
the hand of a finished scholar from beginning to end. In a reply to
Victor Audubon, written July 6, 1833,[82] Waterton declared, upon the
authority of George Ord, whom he quoted, that William Swainson had been
importuned to write Audubon's work for him, but declined when Audubon
insisted upon his own name being given to the world as author. This
direct accusation called forth an immediate explanation from Swainson,
who said:[83]

In reply to that gentleman (G. Ord, Esq.), regarding
the assistance it was expected I should have given my
friend, Mr. Audubon, in the _scientific_ details of
his work, my reply was, that the negotiation had been
broken off from an unwillingness that my name should
be printed on the title-page. I was not asked to write
the work, nor did Mr. Audubon "insist upon his own name
being given to the world as the author" of such parts as
he wished me to undertake.... I have read Mr. Audubon's
original manuscripts, and I have read Mr. Waterton's
original manuscripts. I think the English of one is as
good as the English of the other—but here the comparison
ends."

The controversy thus started did not reflect much credit on Audubon's
detractors, but reverberations of the charge were heard at a much later
day.

Robert Bakewell, the geologist, who was a relative of Mrs. Audubon,
then living at Hampstead, entered this controversy, and in June, 1833,
replied[84] to one of Waterton's fulminations, which he attributed to
envy and jealousy, saying that posterity would regard Audubon as "the
most distinguished ornithologist of the present age."

Charles Waterton began his travels at eighteen, but early settled
down to a life of leisurely independence on his ancestral estate
in Yorkshire, where he studied birds to little purpose and wrote
extensively on natural-history subjects; he is best known for his
_Wanderings_,[85] which has passed through numerous editions and is
still read. From youth Waterton enjoyed exceptional advantages, and
according to one of his biographers, "lived to extreme old age without
having wasted an hour or a shilling." He was the twenty-seventh
"lord of Walton Hall," the manor house of the family, which stood on
an island in a lake; the estate of 260 acres was mainly converted
into a preserve for wild birds. His young wife died in 1829, after
having given birth to a son, and he lived on his paternal acres in
semi-retirement ever after. It was said that Waterton would never don
evening clothes or a black coat, but insisted on wearing a blue frock
with gold buttons until an anxious policeman in the neighboring village
of Wakefield persuaded him to make a change; he told the Reverend J.
G. Wood in 1863 that he had been bled 160 times, mostly by his own
hand. When, in his sixty-ninth year, he had the misfortune to fall from
a pear tree and break an elbow joint, the first remedy tried was the
extraction of thirty ounces of blood; shortly after this a careless
servant withdrew a chair as he was seating himself at table, and thirty
more ounces were immediately required. The wage of one of his laborers
is said to have sufficed for his personal needs, and his sleeping
apartment had neither bed, chair, nor carpet; he lay on bare boards,
wrapped in a blanket, with an oaken block for pillow; and he is said to
have never tasted fermented liquor and to have eaten but sparingly of
meat. His daily habit was to retire at eight and rise at three o'clock
in the morning, and he was always dressed by four; an ardent Roman
Catholic, he would spend an hour at devotion in his private chapel; he
then read Latin and Spanish authors, wrote his polemics against Audubon
or any others with whom he came in conflict, and received the reports
of his bailiff, all before breakfast, which was at eight o'clock; the
remainder of the day was mostly devoted to his birds and other animals,
to preserve which he surrounded his entire estate with a high rampart
of stone, said to have cost, all told, $50,000.

Though a devout Romanist, as someone has remarked, Waterton never
hesitated to adopt the same mode of reasoning which Hume had employed
in his argument against miracles. Thus he rejected with scorn Edward
Jenner's account of how the young parasitic Cuckoo, when but a day
old and hardly able to stand, turned out of their nest its rightful
occupants. This account, which was generally accepted then, and has
been repeatedly verified and recorded by the camera since, "carries,"
said Waterton, "its own condemnation, no matter by whom related, or by
whom received." Trusting to analogy again, he maintained that Audubon's
description of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird gluing bits of lichen to
the surface of its nest with saliva was false, because "the saliva
of all birds immediately mixes with water," and the first shower of
rain would immediately undo the work of the bird. No account was taken
of the Chimney Swift, which not only glues together the twigs of its
nest but secures the whole to a support through an abundant salivary
secretion, although this habit had long been known. In the instance of
this hummingbird, however, both Audubon and Waterton were partly right
and partly wrong, as a careful examination of the nests of five species
of hummingbirds, including the Ruby-throat, has clearly shown.[86]
It proved that saliva was only casually used on the surface of the
nest, the lichens in the case referred to being adherent by means of
spiders' silk and fine vegetable fibers of various sorts; the saliva
of the Ruby-throat, when dry, moreover, was found to be practically
insoluble in cold water, even after an immersion of several days; but
more interesting than this is the fact that the nest itself is _glued_
to its supporting twig by a large _salivary wafer_, which represents
this hummingbird's first step in the work of nest construction.

Shortly after his arrival at Edinburgh, and before he had published
anything, Audubon wrote in his journal on November 5, 1826: "I returned
home early and found a note from Mr. John Gregg, who came himself
later, bringing me a scrubby letter from Charles Waterton," so it
would appear that the lord of "Walton Hall" had been warned to keep an
eye on the dangerous American, and Waterton's American correspondent
was Mr. Ord, of Philadelphia. Later on Waterton wrote to Swainson
an extraordinary letter of some four thousand words,[87] afterwards
published in his _Essays on Natural History_, which for petty vanity
and personal animosity has seldom been surpassed, but with this effort
his ammunition seems to have been exhausted.

Charles Waterton, who lived to his eighty-third year, and who wrote
nineteen polemics against Audubon and his friends, was probably sincere
in his attacks upon the American Woodsman, whom he seems to have
regarded as a dangerous charlatan. Waterton was a curious compound
of fearless independence, kindness, credulity, pedantry, vanity, and
intolerance. He should be given credit, however, for having done much
to spread abroad a love of natural history and for his attitude towards
an artificial system of classification, then much in vogue, which,
though only an amateur, he had the good sense to reject.

CHAPTER XXIX

SIDELIGHTS ON AUDUBON AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES

Few, probably, ever attain marked success in their chosen field without
exciting jealous rivalry or misrepresentation on the part of some of
their contemporaries. Audubon was no exception to the rule, but in
this respect he has been subject to so much misunderstanding that the
reader is entitled to know the truth, whenever it can be ascertained.
An instance of this sort was furnished by the English naturalist,
William Swainson, whose relations with Audubon have been touched upon
in earlier chapters.

In April, 1828, Swainson published an eulogistic account of some of
Audubon's plates, and shortly after they became good friends, as their
familiar letters already reproduced amply testify;[88] in the autumn
of that year, as we have related, they visited Paris together, and
they kept up a correspondence for a number of years. At this time
Swainson was known as a systematic zoölogist of merit and an excellent
draughtsman, having published a series of "Zoölogical Illustrations"
that seem to have been well received. Moreover, as early as 1824, he
had adopted the notorious "Circular System" of the classification of
animals, and at this time was its most zealous advocate in England.
The tenets of this curious doctrine, often called "Quinarianism" from
the recurrence of the number _5_, was confused in a mystical jargon
which conveys little meaning to a reader of today; it was derived from
William Sharp MacLeay, who had advocated a similar system in his _Horae
Entomologicae_, published in 1821. According to Swainson's creed, "all
things that have life have been created upon one plan, and this plan
is founded on the principle of a series of affinities returning into
themselves; which can only be represented by a circle." "This sublime
discovery," which, as Swainson thought, was sufficient "to immortalize
a name," was duly attributed to his "illustrious countryman."[89]

In the summer of 1830, when Audubon was ready to prepare the
letterpress of his mammoth plates and needed assistance in its
technical details, he applied to his friend Swainson, who, as we have
seen, was then living at a farmstead in the Hertfordshire country,
not far from St. Albans.[90] Some of the letters which passed between
the two naturalists after the return of the former to England, in the
spring of that year, will now be given, without amelioration or change
of any sort. It should be remembered that Swainson at this time was in
an overwrought state, since he was dependent mainly upon his scientific
writings for the support of a family of five children, oppressed by
pecuniary difficulties, and, no doubt, irritated by lack of success and
the rebuffs which a leading part in the Quinarian movement was certain
to entail. Audubon's letter[91] which follows served to answer that of
Swainson, bearing date of January 30, 1830,[92] had been received in
America but too late for the fulfillment of its commissions. References
to Audubon's "book," which unfortunately proved a stumbling block in
the path of friendship, are noticed here and in Swainson's reply for
the first time.

_Audubon to William Swainson_

LONDON, _May 5th 1830_.

MY DEAR MR. SWAINSON,

You may be assured that nothing but an over [_word
undecipherable_] or [_another similar word_] has stopt
me from writing to you sooner, Yet I would have had
the pleasure of announcing you my return to good old
England had I not been informed by Mr. Havell that you
we apraised of it when last in town & that more over you
were quite well.—I hope that your kind wife and children
are equally so and happy.—I brought my good wife with me
to Liverpool where she is for a while with her sister
Mrs. Gordon & the family Rathbourn. We had a rough
voyage of 25 days & glad to be back on this hospitable
shore. I am sorry to say that your last letter to
me (I presume) did not reach me in time to enable me
to procure either squirrels or birds for you.—I have
indeed brought about 150 birds and some of them good
singers and beautifull but all are on Double Elephant
Paper—they may and I hope they will please your eyes,
when I have the satisfaction to shake you by the hand
the first time you come to town.—I called on Mr. Lea at
Philadelphia, but he told me that you had countermanded
your wishes to me & has given me a memorandum to that
effect—Mr. Gilpin on whom I also called told me that
your travelling boxes had forwardd. I saw Mr. Ward at
New York he is doing _extremely well_ if what he told
me is true. I saw M. le Comte also.—I have just taken
the Reins of my Mammoth Publication which by the way I
am glad to find in a good way of process or progress.
I am greatly indebted to Mr. Children and grateful to
him—Havell has done his part I think well and now I
will set about procuring subscriptions with new ardour.
Now in return of this packet of information I am very
desirous to know what you are engaged at present in the
way of science; I feel as if I had a world of talk for
you.—Bonaparte's 4th volume is printing have you seen
the third? I have it at Liverpool by this time.—I wrote
to the author this morning.—I am well pleased with my
voyage I think it will be of material advantage to my
work my health & my comfort—We have left our two sons
quite well and doing well at the Falls of the Ohio where
I killed a fine Turkey about _forty days since_. Those
sent to the Zoological Gardens alive have had ill luck.
They received only one and 3 Oppossums—The blue Gias [?]
and Parakets are not yet arrived, and Mr. Rathbone as
well as Mr. Shepherd told me (to my great sorrow) that
the last shipment of 10,000 forest trees were all dead.
How did those sent to you?—I have commenced the having
a complete collection of the Birds of America in skins
& have instituted some agents in the U. S. to provide
for me. So much have I seen of those dear creatures
of the feathered creation that I feel even now as if I
heard their notes and saw their all elegant movements.—I
am going to _write a book!_ but more of this when we
meet.—do you know that the poor woodsman who now is
scribling to you will take his seat at the Royal Society
of London tomorrow—the very words make my head whirl
and I will stand it I do not know—I will indeed be glad
when I am _seated_.—Mrs A and myself had the pleasure of
being very kindly received and treated by our President
Jackson Congress subscribed, I procured there four more
and an act will be passed to enter my works Paintings
etc free of the customs.—It is past 5 and I have to pay
a penny, I wish I were allowed to write untill time made
it a shilling so much do I think I could still trouble
you with, however as time and tide wait neither for
me or others I must conclude by begging that you will
remember me most kindly to your amiable wife—kiss your
little Folk and believe me

sincerely your friend

JOHN J. AUDUBON

_William Swainson to Audubon_

_Saturday, 1[10?] May, 1830. _

Welcome once more, my good friend to merry England:

I had indeed heard from Havell, with the greatest
pleasure, that you had safely landed at Liverpool;
and I regret very much that you did not reach London
before I had left it; for I am now much seldomer in
town than formerly, and I know not when I may have the
power to do so again. My old and most valued friend Mr.
Burchell has also, to my great delight, just returned
to England after _six years_ spent in wandering over
the Forests and Andes of South America bringing with
him collections, that will make everything else in this
country _sink into utter insignificance_, he too, is
longing to see me, and if I possibly can get away for a
day next week, with two such desirable objects I will,
but my literary engagements bind me, hand and foot.

You think that I do not know that you are an F.
R. S.—you are mistaken, furthermore, you will be
surprised at knowing I have been fighting your battles
against a rising opposition which originated among
some of your _Ornithological friends_ (at least so I
strongly suspect) for the purpose of your name being
_blackballed_. But more of this when we meet, such
matters had better not be committed to paper.

The whole of your bundle of young trees reached me as
withered sticks, not a spark of life in any one of them.

So you are going to write a book 'tis a thing of little
moment for one who is not known, because they have no
reputation to loose, but much will be expected from
_you_, and you must, therefore, as the saying is, _put
your best leg foremost_. I am coming fast round to the
prejudice, as you may think it, against the Americans.

Dr. Richardson's and my own volume on the Arctic Birds,
is now in press. Not being able to refer to your plates,
I have not had the power to quote your work, you know
how repeatedly I have applied on this head, both to you
and Mr. Havell in vain.

Prince C. Bonaparte has long promised me his second &
third volume but they have never come. Ward[93] is a
regular _Scamp_ he has taught me a good lesson—fool that
he is—and that is, to steal my heart against distress
such as his was, and to consult, like all the rest of
the world, my own interest only. I am sick of the world
and of mankind, and but for my family would end my days
in my beloved forests of Brazil.

So Mr. Lea[94] did not settle my account with you? I
have found _him out_, also, to be no better than he
should be. He also is one of your _friends_ who would,
if he could, cut your throat. Another _friend_ of yours
has been in England, Mr. Ord and has been doing you
all the _good_ he can: if these are samples of American
Naturalists, defend me from ever coming in contact with
any of their whole race.

Mrs. Swainson's health I am grieved to say, has suffered
much the last twelve months, she is now at Birmingham
with the children. I have not failed to mention your
kind inquiries after both, whenever Havell has a parcel
for me, I hope you will occasionally accompany it with
a few lines.

Yours my dear Sir very faith'ly

W. SWAINSON

JOHN J. AUDUBON
at MR. HAVELL'S
79 Newman St.
Oxford St.

As already noticed, Audubon started on a canvassing tour late in July,
1830, as announced in the following letter to Swainson, but he changed
his plans, and instead of returning to London, went to Edinburgh, and
again settled there for the winter.

_Audubon to William Swainson_

_July 26th 1830._

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I was particularly pleased at receiving yours of the
22nd this _morning_, I cannot well say where it has
rambled since it was dated, but certainly its migration
has not been that of a Swallow for instance.—

Thank you about the Jay—It has been my misfortune to
have been _rather_ misunderstood by you respecting what
you please to call "Poor Nomenclators" had I not _some_
regard for you all of that nobler breed I would not
borrow names in my work but would have like some others,
made new ones right out.—_If you have_ a new Woodpecker
from the _visited states_, a new species, I will feel
greatly honoured to have it dedicated to me, and the
more so by you who first dared _in good faith_ to write
respecting an unknown woodsman—one of my case[s] is come
to hand, I gave from it to the British Museum _thirty
skins_ several of which are very rare indeed and 3
of which I [_here a word is apparently omitted by the
writer_] as 3 new [_here another word is omitted_]—I
have males and females of the woodpecker you speak of
quite at your service for a few weeks—and I have also a
_few duplicates_ for you altogether as I promised.—Say
how I am to send them—I go to Bristol tomorrow in search
of subscribers for ten days—To Paris on the 15th of
August—have written to queen Adelaide this pleasant
morning & am glad to see that you are all well. Mr. A.
joins in respects to you all & I am as ever

your friend most truly

JOHN J. AUDUBON

[The following note is written up the side of the page across the main
letter:]

I cannot at present say When we can avail ourselves of
your kind invitation but will let you know in good time
should we but find it convenient to you when we return.—

It should be noticed that the revolution in France which upset the
Bourbon dynasty occurred just as Audubon was leaving London, and that
the House of Orleans, in the person of Louis Philippe, was seated on
the throne the day the following letter[95] was written; very likely
Audubon was not reluctant to change his plan of visiting Paris after
hearing of these events, although he had enjoyed an interview with the
new king, who was his patron.

[Illustration: PLATE CXII
_Bluebird_,
SYLVIA SIALIS,
_Male 1. Female 2. Young 3._
_Great Mullein, Verbascum Thapsus._

Drawn from nature by J.J. Audubon F.R.S. F.L.S.
Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R. Havell, London 1834.]

_William Swainson to Audubon_

_Saturday 7 August 1830._

MY DEAR MR. AUDUBON

as you was on the point of leaving London, when you
wrote your last letter, I did not reply to it. This will
probably find you returned from your excursion, and
I hope with every success, on the score of increased
subscribers, that you had anticipated, If you will be
so good as send me your specimens of the Woodpeckers
to Havell's, I shall be very glad to see them, and
they shall be returned to you after examination with
the Arctic ones. You will assist me very much by any
_Duplicates_ you can spare me, I particularly want a
pair of the Ivory billed Woodpecker, the No Am: Parrots.
Summer red birds and the Painted Buntlings also the
Pinecreeping Warbler. m & fem.

I do not expect that these most wonderful events in
France will deter you from going, seeing that everything
is now quiet. The french are certainly a great nation.
I never had such an opinion of them as I now have.

I suppose you will be at the Dinner to Cuvier on
Tuesday, when you will no doubt hear complements passing
about, and a long speech from Mr Vigors. I have neither
time nor health for such things.

Our united true regards to Mrs Audubon. In haste

very faithfully yours

W SWAINSON

J. J. AUDUBON ESQ.
43 Great Russell Street,
Bloomsbury.

From Manchester Audubon sent Swainson this letter, in which he makes a
quaint proposal regarding the text of his projected work, suggesting
that they combine their resources and their families, he to provide
the ideas, as well as his own wine or ale, while Swainson furnished the
science.

_Audubon to William Swainson_

MANCHESTER _22nd August 1830_.

MY DEAR MR. SWAINSON,—

At the time that I sent you the Woodpeckers skins, I
had not a moment to spare or be assured I would have
answered your note—When I opened my boxes of skins I
had the mortification to find most of them touched by
insects—I felt a desire that those nondescribed specimen
[s] which I had should go to a public institution & I
therefore presented them to the British Museum through
my friend Children—I sent others to New Castle upon Tyne
some to this place and some to our friends Selby & Sir
Wm Jardine.—respecting the Woodpeckers which you look
upon as knew I will merely say that if for instance
it differs from all others known by having the top of
the head entirely red that it may be a young bird, I
say this because I do not know if you are acquainted
with the fact that almost all the Woodpecker tribe have
this in their youth more or less extended but after the
first moult they assume the red in the form they are to
wear it during life. I sent you a young of the Downy
in that state—and if I recollect well also one of the
Golden Winged—had you sent me your specimen, I _think_ I
could assisted you in determining if or no it is a new
bird.—should you become satisfied on that head, and I
am honoured with its being named after me, I will feel
gratified and thankful to you.—Mrs. Audubon is with me &
we are bound to the Scotch Lakes & will return in about
2 months.—I am desirous to hear from you if you can have
the time to spare & the inclination to _Bear a hand_ in
the text of my work.—by my furnishing you with the ideas
& observations which I have and you to add _the science
which I have not_!—If it would suit you and Mrs Swainson
to take us as borders for few months when being almost
always together I could partake of your observations &
you of mine.—I would like to receive here your ideas on
this subject & if possible what amount you would expect
from us as remuneration.—My first volume will comprise
an introduction and _one hundred letters addressed
to the Reader_ referring to the 100 plates forming
the first volume of my illustrations.—I will enter
even on local descriptions of the country.—Adventures
and anecdotes, speak of the trees & the flowers the
reptiles or the fishes or insects as far as I know—I
wish if possible to make a _pleasing_ book as well as an
_instruction_ one.—In the event of my living with you we
will furnish our own wines, porter or ale.—

I hope you know me well enough to write to me your ideas
without fearing any offence done us should you find
it either disagreeable or inconvenient, indeed this
is simply to know from you if such a thing is at all
likely to be advantageous to all parties.—We leave this
on Saturday for Leeds and I will be glad to hear from
you then—I have a confounded steel pen that scratches
abominably.—Present Mrs Audubon's kind regards to your
good Lady & accept Yourself our united good wishes,

your friend

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

Address to the care of
THOS FOWLER Esq.
Bookseller
Aug 22nd 1830
Manchester.

[Superscribed] WM SWAINSON Esq.
Tittenhanger Green
Nr
St Albans,
Herts.

In Swainson's clear and candid reply,[96] which followed at once, all
was figured "to a nicety"; he would supply his share of the matter at
the rate of three dollars and seventy-eight cents per printed page,
with an extra charge for corrections; he would follow his own ideas,
but strive to avoid any conflict of opinion, and would expect his name
to stand on the title.

_William Swainson to Audubon_

[between _August 24 and 28, 1830_]
Thursday

MY DEAR MR. AUDUBON.

I received your letter yesterday, and hasten to reply
to it. By some mistake or other, of Havell's, he has
not sent the birds to which you allude, and I did not of
course know that you had left them with him, now to your
two propositions.

First, as to boarding with us, you do not know
probably, that this is never done in England, except
as a matter of necessity or profession, in which case
the domestic establishment is framed accordingly. But
this consideration would have no influence with me,
in _your_ case did other circumstances allow of it.
It would however be attended with so many changes in
our every-day domestic arrangements, that it becomes
impossible.

Secondly, as to the proposition I once made to you, I am
fearful you have put it out of my power to do _so much_
as I _might_ have done, from your having distributed
the very birds which would have been the materials I
was to work upon; and upon which only, any scientific
observations truly original, (& therefore _worth_
putting into your book), must be founded. Fortunately,
however, my own collection is not poor in North American
Specimens, and these would still furnish a mass of
interesting information to _the Scientific_. It would
be, however, highly advisable that all these species
which I have not, but which you have brought home,
and given away, should be borrowed back again, without
delay.

Next as to plan. I have always told you that the plan
you mention, so far as your own narrative goes, is the
_very best_ which could possibly be chosen. _You_ have
to speak of the birds as they are alive, _I_ to speak
of their outward form, structure, and their place in the
great System of their Creator, for the true system, if I
have, or anybody else, has discovered is not a _Human_
System. If my views are correct, every observation you
make, _plain_, _unvarnished_, and strictly _accurate_,
will fully and perfectly harmonize. Our parts are
totally distinct, and we have no occasion to consult
with each other what we should say at every page.
Where our views may differ, I shall not, of course, say
anything. My own remarks had better be kept distinct,
in the form of "Scientific Notes" to each letter, at
the end, and in this way you will make the work, the
_standard authority_ on American Ornithology, which
without Science, it certainly would not be, however
interesting or valuable in other respects.

As to time, and remuneration, I shall have completed all
my portion of Dr. Richardson's works in two months. I
can then _devote_ a portion of each day to yours. The
terms of my remuneration will be those which I always
receive from the Booksellers, and which are fixed,
worth twelve guineas a sheet of the same size and Type
as the Zoölogical Journal, each sheet being 16 pages,
and each page averages 390 words, the calculation is
there brought to a nicety, and you may spend as much as
you choose. If I have to revise and correct the proofs,
make alterations etc. that will be something additional,
I always charge this by the _time_ each sheet takes
me, and would come to from 5/ to 7/6 a sheet but the
booksellers generally give me a round sum, which I name
after trying the three first sheets of a work, with Dr.
Richardson's the case was different, I there had 300
£ for my assistance and drawings. It would of course
be understood that my name stands in the title page as
responsible for such portion as concerns me.

Should we arrange this matter, it will be time enough
to fix on other minor points. But I should like to know
your decision soon, as I have been applied to in another
quarter. Indeed I am already so full of business, that
I have two years active employment ahead of me. I go
for two days to assist Burchell[97] in the arrangement
of his African Birds prior to publication, at the end
of the month, I shall bear in mind what you say on the
Woodpecker but I have peculiar notions on _Species_,
which, as I _believe_ them correct, so I do not suffer
to be influenced by others, you will see more of this in
my Book of American Birds.[98] Our kindest remembrance
to Mrs. Audubon, and always look upon me as your
sincere, but very plain spoken friend,

W. SWAINSON.

P. S. I had a long letter from Chas. Bonaparte the other
day, Vigors is gone to Rome!!

[Addressed] J. J. AUDUBON
c/o Mr. THOMAS FOWLER, Bookseller,
Manchester.

[Endorsed by Audubon:] Answered 29th Aug. 1830. J. J. A.

Audubon's next letter, which was written from Manchester on August 29,
must have been distinctly provocative, to judge from the following
caustic reply[99] which it drew forth; this is dated, "Tittenhanger
Green, 2d October, 1830":

_William Swainson to Audubon_

MY DR SIR

I have refrained from replying to your letter until I
thought you had returned to London.

Either you do not appear to have understood the nature
of my proposition on supplying scientific information
for your work, or you are very erroneously informed
on the matter in which such assistance is usually
given. Dr. Richardson, and a hundred others, similarly
situated, might with equal justice say that no name
should appear but their own; as it would rob them of
their fame, because notes are furnished by one or
two other persons, your friends would tell you, if
you enquired of them, that even _my_ name would _add_
something to the value of the "The Birds of America".
You pay me compliments on my scientific knowledge,
and wished you possessed a portion; & you liken the
acquisition of such a portion to purchasing the sketch
of an eminent painter—the simile is good, but allow me
to ask you, whether, after procuring the sketch, you
would mix it up with your own, and pass it off to your
friends as your production? I cannot possibly suppose
that such would be your duplicity and I therefore must
not suppose that you intended that I should give all
the scientific information I have laboured to acquire
during twenty years on ornithology—conceal my name,—and
transfer my fame to your pages & to your reputation.

Few have enjoyed the opportunity of benefiting by the
advice and assistance of a scientific friend so much
as yourself; and no one, I must be allowed to say, has
evinced so little inclination to profit by it. When
I call to mind the repeated offers I have made you to
correct the nomenclature of your birds, from the first
time of our acquaintance, and recollect the dislike you
appeared to have to receiving any such information or
correction, I cannot but feel perfect surprize at you
now wishing to profit by that aid, you have hitherto
been so indifferent about.

Let me however urge upon you one advise which, for
your own sake, I should be sorry you despised. It is to
characterize yourself, or get some friend to do so for
you, all your new species. The specimens, you tell me,
are now in England, & the task will be comparatively
easy. I urge this, because you may not be aware that a
new species, deposited in a museum, is of no authority
whatsoever, _until its name and its character are_
published. I have repeatedly set my face against such
authorities, so has Mr. Vigors, so has Ch. Bonaparte,
and on this head we are all perfectly unanimous. Unless,
therefore, this is done, you will, I am fearful, loose
the credit of discovering nearly all the new species you
possess, and this I again repeat, for your own sake I
should be sorry for. To me, individually, your not doing
so, would rather be advantageous.

The more a book is quoted, the more is its merits
admitted, and its authority established. it was on
this account I so repeatedly requested the _use_ only,
of a copy of your book, that it might have been cited
in "Northern Zoölogy"[100] not having it—I could not
therefore mention it.

I shall always be as thankful to you as formerly for
any information on the habits, economy, and manners of
birds; but, as to _species_, I want not, nor do I ever
ask, the opinions of any one. that is quite a different
matter, and entertaining peculiar ideas on that subject,
you must not feel surprised at my differing from you
in almost every instance. My reasons will always be
laid before the public. In the present case, we totally
differ about _species_ of Woodpeckers. I shall not,
however propitiate a favourable opinion from you, or any
one, by a compliment and therefore I will wait for some
species which you yourself will admit, which I shall
then give your name to, I am rather glad you did not
accept my offer, for I am _now_ assisting in bringing
out an Octavo edition of Wilson, by Sir W Jardine which
will be arranged according to _my_ nomenclature.

Yours my dr Sir
Very faithy

W SWAINSON

The letter just quoted naturally served as a check to their intimacy,
but Audubon did not withdraw his friendly hand, as shown by his letters
to follow later, though his answer to this has not been preserved.[101]

Audubon reached Edinburgh early in October, soon after receiving
Swainson's decisive reply, and immediately made an arrangement with
MacGillivray, as already related.[102] It is evident from Swainson's
letter that when Audubon called upon him for editorial aid, he was
by no means ready to defer to him wholly in the matter of naming his
birds, a subject in which Swainson regarded himself as the first of
living authorities. Swainson's pride was also wounded at Audubon's
apparent lack of appreciation of the weight which his name would carry
if allowed to grace the title pages of his works, and he speaks of
Audubon as if he were ready to bargain for scientific information but
determined to withhold that credit which is every writer's just due.
It is only fair to say that Swainson's vanity seems to have outrun
his candor, for when the controversy over the authorship of Audubon's
_Biography of Birds_ was started in 1833, he publicly denied that
any such proposal had been made.[103] According to Swainson's own
statement, quoted earlier, Audubon was ready to grant him whatever
credit was due, but it is evident that he was not then disposed to
adopt Swainson's peculiar ideas upon the classification of birds or to
enter upon a thoroughgoing arrangement of joint authorship. Though no
philosopher himself, it seems clear that the American woodsman was by
no means disposed to swallow all the vagaries of the "Circular System"
to which his friend was committed, and which was later held up to
ridicule.

The craze for describing new species of animals was all too common in
both England and America at the time of which we write; the chief aim
of many naturalists seems to have been to attach their names to as
many of nature's forms as possible. Swainson, who "never went to bed
without describing a new species," as Audubon said at a later time, had
admonished his friend above all else to hasten to publish descriptions
of every new bird which he had obtained in America, lest he lose credit
for the discovery; but Audubon, who had not hesitated to poke fun
at the species-mongering Rafinesque, was still inclined to look with
disdain upon work of this sort. He not only rejected Swainson's advice
but answered it rather tartly in the first volume of his letterpress,
which appeared in the following year. A passage which caused the
naturalist no little annoyance on another score was as follows:[104]

Since I became acquainted with Mr. Alexander Wilson,
the celebrated author of the well known and duly
appreciated work on American Birds, and subsequently
with my excellent friend, Charles Lucien Bonaparte,
I have been aware of the keenness with which every
student of Natural History presses forward to describe
an object of his discovery, or that may have occurred
to travellers in distant countries. There seems to be a
pride, a glory in doing this, that thrusts aside every
other consideration; and I really believe that the ties
of friendship itself would not prevent some naturalists
from even robbing an old acquaintance of the merit of
first describing a previously unknown object. Although
I have certainly felt very great pleasure, when, on
picking up a bird, I discovered it to be new to me,
yet I have never known the desire above alluded to.
This feeling I still cherish; and in spite of the many
injunctions which I have received from naturalists far
more eminent than I can ever expect to be, I have kept,
and still keep, unknown to others, the species, which,
not finding portrayed in any published work, I look
upon as new, having only given in my Illustrations a
number of them proportionate to the drawings of already
known species that have been engraved. Attached to the
descriptions of these, you will find the place and date
of their discovery. I do not, however, intend to claim
any merit for these discoveries, and should have liked
as well that the objects of them had been previously
known, as this would have saved some unbelievers
the trouble of searching for them in books, and the
disappointment of finding them actually new. I assure
you, good reader, that, even at this moment, I should
have less pleasure in presenting to the scientific
world a new bird, the knowledge of whose habits I do
not possess, than in describing the peculiarities of one
long since discovered.

It is a pity that Audubon did not maintain so admirable an attitude
towards the description of new species as was here expressed, but at
the close of his career in England, when he desired to make his work
on American ornithology as complete as possible, he appeared as keen to
describe and publish new birds as any of his contemporaries.

Shortly after his return to London in the spring of 1831, Audubon sent
Swainson the following letter with a copy of the first volume of his
_Biography_ of Birds, but his one-time friend was not the author of
an extended and impartial review of the work, which appeared in the
_Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_ in the same year.[105]

_Audubon to William Swainson_

LONDON _April 28th 1830_ [1831]

MY DEAR MR SWAINSON,

We arrived here last evening & I found your favour
of the 17th instant for which I offer you my sincere
thanks—I had began to think that I was erased from your
list.—I have now the pleasure of sending you a copy
of my first volume of ornithological biography which
I hope you will accept as a small memento of the high
regard I have for your self & your talents.—My inserting
your name was not a matter merely of duty but of great
pleasure and believe when I say that I never will be
ungrateful to anyone who has been kind to me.—

We are going to Paris on Friday week & will be absent
about a month—on the first day of August next we sail
from Liverpool to America where I intend to beat the
bushes once more—my peregrinations will extend in all
probability & God willing to the Pacific Ocean into
California etc—After my return I wish to settle in
England somewhere, but where is yet undetermined.—

I have felt much grieved at reading the article of
yours respecting _French Naturalists_. I say _grieved_,
because I am always so when I see men of superior
talents employing their pen time and mind at sparring
instead of peacably giving to the world those results
of their investigations & experience at all times so
desired by everyone bent on studying the wonderful laws
& beauties of nature. I do not wish to read a _lecture_
to you but from my heart I am sorry you should be _à la
joute_ [?] with any one & will conclude by sincerely
hoping that you will have no more of this sort of
warfare.—

I am over head in business as you may well suppose after
an absence of 8 months but will be most happy to hear
from you. Have you heard from C. Bonaparte lately? Is he
still at Rome? it is now two months since I heard from
him.—

Present our united kind respects to your good Lady,
accept the same yourself & believe me your friend

J. J. AUDUBON.

77 Oxford Street.

It is interesting to notice that Swainson kept his promise about
the woodpeckers, and in 1831 named one, which had been obtained from
Louisiana, _Picus auduboni_;[106] although Audubon later repudiated it,
saying that he believed it to represent only an immature state of the
common Downy Woodpecker, he returned the compliment by dedicating to
Swainson one of his warblers, _Sylvia_, now _Helinaria, swainsonii_.

When William Swainson brought to a close his labors on the _Cabinet
Cyclopædia_ in 1840, a part of the eleventh volume was devoted to
a biography of naturalists.[107] In this little work Audubon was
accorded a page, Alexander Wilson received eight, while the author
devoted fourteen pages to himself. The talented MacGillivray, whose
memorable _History of British Birds_ had then advanced to its third
volume, was studiously ignored, and was referred to only in a footnote
as "Mr. Gilvray"; but he was of necessity a sharer in the following
criticism of Audubon's _Biography of Birds_: "a want of precision in
his descriptions, and a general ignorance of modern ornithology sadly
disappoint the scientific reader." The technical descriptions in that
work were written, as Swainson must have known, by his young rival,
William MacGillivray, then one of the ablest exponents of the anatomy
of birds in Great Britain; but anatomy, the master key to relationship,
Swainson affected to regard with contempt, though overzealous friends
had compared him with Cuvier, one of the greatest masters of anatomy
of all time. To follow the comment of a later critic,[108] Swainson
probably regarded the title of "the British Cuvier" as rather
derogatory, since he had pronounced Cuvier to have been "totally
unacquainted with the very first principles of the natural system."
To Swainson, however, as the same commentator explains, "the natural
system" implied the concept of a magical number and a circle, ideas
which Cuvier would have been the first to repudiate or ignore.

The ardent MacGillivray was naturally scornful of Swainson's
unscientific attitude, which he had roundly scored in the introduction
to his _History of British Birds_ that had begun to appear in 1837; he
then said that Swainson could exclaim: "How superficially do we study
nature," while in anatomy his own studies were a century behind the
times and his opinions on the subject worthy of the Dark Ages.

In his biographical notice of Audubon, Swainson refers to their Paris
experience in the following words:

It is singular how two minds, possessing the same
tastes, can be so diversified, as to differ _in toto_
respecting the very same objects. During the whole of
Mr. Audubon's residence in Paris, he only visited the
Ornithological Gallery twice, (where I was studying
for hours, almost daily), for the purpose of calling
upon me; and even then he merely bestowed that sort of
passing glance at the magnificent cases of birds, which
a careless observer would do while sauntering in the
room.

Audubon, to be sure, was never much of a closet naturalist or an
admirer of stuffed specimens; but in reading this criticism of an
estranged friend, one wonders if the writer had really forgotten that
while his own expressed desire in going to Paris in 1828 was to study
in the Museum, Audubon's sole purpose was to extend his subscription
list; that after innumerable interviews with ministers of state and
running from post to pillar for two months, his friend was obliged to
come away with but thirteen additional names or orders for his work.
Had Swainson also forgotten that during all that time Audubon acted
as his interpreter, assisting him in all his visits and purchases, and
that but shortly after, when hard pressed for money, he had called on
Audubon for a considerable sum?

As a parting shot to his former friend, Swainson also said:

He can shoot a bird, and make it live again, as it were,
upon canvass; but he cannot describe it in scientific,
and therefore in perfectly intelligible terms. Hence he
found it necessary, in this part of his work, to call in
the aid of others; but being jealous that any other name
should appear on the title page than his own, he was
content with the assistance of some one who, very good
naturedly, would fall in with his humour.

What was here said of Audubon might have been true in 1830, but it
was not true in 1840. Swainson could never understand that his friend
was a man who never stood still. Audubon drew heavily upon his more
learned associates, and he could give as well as take. When working
under the influence of a powerful motive, he improved as rapidly in
his use of English words as he had in the finish and composition of his
pictures; he soon came to write not only with fluency but at times with
eloquence, and the technicalities of his science did not remain to him
a sealed book, though for the drudgery of detailed description he had
confessedly no stomach.

We have referred to William Swainson's advocacy of the "Circular" or
"Quinarian" system of the classification of animals, with him amounting
almost to a monomania, which was one of the most notorious examples
of reasoning in a circle of which zoölogists have ever been guilty.
It was a serious attempt to rationalize nature in a wholly irrational
manner, and must be regarded as a curious by-product of minds fixed in
the belief of a special creation,—to whom every form of evolutionary
doctrine was sacrilegious and abhorrent. Its advocates, nevertheless,
were sincere, and Swainson probably regarded himself as a martyr to
the cause. As a later critic remarked, the system served him well by
investing with a cloak of originality his treatises on those classes
of animals with which he had little first-hand knowledge. His work on
fishes is regarded as "a literary curiosity, the appearance of which
was a misfortune to a man who, by his indefatigable industry under by
no means favorable circumstances, had contributed as much as any of his
contemporaries to the advancement of Zoölogy and its diffusion among
the people."[109] This egregious doctrine, which its disciples called
"the natural system" without grasping the true meaning of "affinity,"
or "homology," to use the more modern word, vitiated most of their
writings; abler men played with it for a time, only to cast it aside,
and no one but a historian or a psychologist would now give it a
passing thought.

So far as Swainson was concerned, Audubon's conduct appears to have
been above reproach, and it must be regarded as fortunate that this
ardent "Quinarian" did not have a hand in the _Biography of Birds_,
for if it were really true that Audubon could have brought himself to
accept the artificial system then in vogue, American ornithology, as
Elliott Coues remarked, escaped a great affliction.

Swainson's early life affords a striking illustration of nepotism,
and his later years reflected some of its disastrous consequences. At
fourteen he was appointed as a junior clerk in the Liverpool Customs
House at a salary of eighty pounds a year, to service under his father,
who had in turn succeeded his grandfather in the office of Collector.
At eighteen he received an appointment in the commissary department of
the English army and went to Sicily, where he remained eight years,
during which he worked industriously at natural-history pursuits.
Having attained the rank of Assistant Commissary-General, at twenty-six
he was retired on half-pay because of ill health. Upon returning to
England he became a member of the Linnæan Society, in 1816, before his
departure for Brazil, where with Henry Koster he collected birds for
nearly two years. Having settled again at Liverpool, he entered the
Royal Society, on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks, in 1820, the
year in which he began to publish the results of his studies. Swainson
was married in 1825, but upon the death of his father in the following
year, his income so much reduced that he resorted to authorship as
a profession; of course he found it a poor crutch, though he worked
with indefatigable industry and produced from one to two illustrated
volumes each year. Eventually he became embittered against Audubon and
towards the world of men and things in general, especially after 1835,
when domestic bereavement and trouble of many kinds pressed hard upon
him. He repeatedly applied to the Zoölogical Department of the British
Museum for a position which went to others; he tried to sell his
collections to the Museum and failed; he applied for an appointment on
the Civil List but was denied; then he decided to give up the struggle
of authorship in England and leave the country.

In 1840 Swainson emigrated with his family to New Zealand, where he
seems to have met with no better success, although his scientific
activity did not wholly cease. Though four years younger than
Audubon, he outlived him five years, dying in 1856. His excellent
draughtsmanship, tireless industry, and punctilious habits were
deserving of recognition, but he suffered from the lack of a liberal
education, and was rather too vain, too inclined to jealousy and to
quarrel with his contemporaries, to have achieved great success.

[Illustration:

WILLIAM SWAINSON THOMAS NUTTALL
CHARLES L. BONAPARTE CONSTANTINE S. RAFINESQUE

SWAINSON FROM HIS "BIOGRAPHY OF ZOÖLOGISTS"; NUTTALL FROM AN
ENGRAVING AFTER DERRY, 1825; BONAPARTE FROM A PHOTOGRAPH IN
POSSESSION OF MR. RUTHVEN DEANE, FIRST PUBLISHED IN "CASSINIA"; AND
RAFINESQUE FROM RICHARD ELLSWORTH CALL, "RAFINESQUE."]

In a paragraph already quoted from the _Ornithological Biography_,
in which Audubon portrayed the eagerness with which some naturalists
pressed forward to describe new species of birds, too often forgetting
every propriety in their eagerness to outstrip a rival, the name
of his "excellent friend, Charles Lucien Bonaparte,"[110] had been
indiscreetly mentioned. Though there was no evident intention of giving
offense, this reference was keenly resented. Bonaparte, it may be
recalled, was still engaged upon his _American Ornithology_, the last
volume of which was not published until 1833, and was therefore, in a
degree, a rival of Audubon in the ornithological field. Audubon did his
best to smooth over the difficulty but with little success. In writing
to his son, Victor, from New York in 1833,[111] he referred to the
following letter which he was about to send "by duplicate, to try to
correct that error" of his early friend:

_Audubon to Charles Lucien Bonaparte_

TO CHARLES BONAPARTE,
Prince of Musignano, &c., &c., &c.

MY DEAR SIR:—

I am sadly grieved to hear through our friend, Wm.
Cooper, of this city, that you have taken umbrage to
a passage in the Introduction to my first volume of
Ornithological Biographies.

To tell you that not even a thought of disparagement
ever existed in my mind towards you, would not be
enough. I have always repeated to all my Friends, nay,
to all persons who have ever spoken of you, of the
superior talents you possess, and of the Intrinsic value
connected with all your ornithological or otherwise
scientific productions.

I am a plain sailing man. You know full well that I
derive no knowledge from classical education, and that
being the case, connected with my being honest, I always
try to say what I think truth, at once. Could I have
praised you at one place, and attempted to lower you in
the estimation of the Scientific World at another? If
so—I would acknowledge myself unworthy the good wishes
of _any one_, much less of the good wishes of Charles
Bonaparte! the very being who brought me forward into
worldly notice by his kind advice. Nay, Nay; take me for
what I am in truth

Your Friend & ever your well wisher, as well as your
obt. Sert.

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

Bonaparte was too much of a man of the world to permit such an incident
to cause any sudden break in their relations. We know that they met in
London in 1837, when, as Audubon said in a later letter to Harris[112]
he "pumped him sadly too much"; at his request Bonaparte then drew
up a list of American birds, to the number of 425.[113] Although
his subscription to _The Birds of America_ was permitted to lapse,
Bonaparte's name was retained on the list to the end. When the business
was being closed up in London, however, Audubon wrote to Havell, from
Edinburgh, under date of 15 May, 1839: "As respects my _old_ Friend, C.
Bonaparte, _unless_ he pays the long standing balance which he owes me
of £8.18.6, and also the price of the set of Nos. 81-87, _on the nail_,
he is not to receive the latter." Again on the thirtieth of June he
wrote: "I have no numbers for Charles Bonaparte, and no 5th. vol. of
Biog. for Mr. Gould; let the Gentlemen purchase or procure what they
want where they can."

In 1838 Bonaparte published a paper[114] in which appeared this comment:

Throughout the list I have quoted, as types of the
species under consideration, the figures of the
great works of Mr. John Gould and Mr. Audubon on
the Ornithology of the two regions, as they must be
considered the standard works of the subject. The merit
of Mr. Audubon's work yields only to the size of his
book; while Mr. Gould's work on the _Birds of Europe_
though inferior in size to that of Mr. Audubon—is the
most beautiful work that has ever appeared in this or
any other country.

A reviewer in America,[115] who could not repress his resentment at
the last remark, said: "It would be invidious to make any comment
on this—to even insinuate a wonder that a personage bearing this
world renowned name would consent to resign his reputation as a man
of science, through all time, to the doubtful association of such an
expression of mere professional spite."

John Gould, to whom Bonaparte referred, was perhaps the only
ornithologist who ever grew rich at his profession. He was the author
of forty large, illustrated folios, produced at the rate of about one
a year, on the birds of Great Britain, Europe, Asia, and Australia, as
well as those of numerous families of the tropical Orient. Audubon, in
response to Bachman, thus referred to him when writing in London, April
30, 1835: "Gould is a man of great industry and has the advantage of
the Zoölogical Society, museums, gardens, &c., and is in correspondence
with Temminck, Jardine, Selby, James Wilson and the rest of the
scientific gentry. His wife makes his drawings on stone. She is a
plain, fine woman, and although their works are not quite up to nature,
both deserve great credit."

Acting no doubt upon this expressed belief, Audubon became a subscriber
to Gould's _Century of Birds_, published in 1831, and also to his
_Birds of Europe_ (1832-37). In the preface to the latter work, "J. J.
Audubon, Esq.," and twenty others are thanked "for the warm interest
which they have at all times taken in the present work"; it was also
said that the greater part of the plates of this series, those of his
_Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains_ and his _Monograph on
the Trogons_, as well as three-quarters of those of the _Monograph on
the Toucans_, "have been drawn and lithographed by Mrs. Gould, from
sketches and designs by myself always taken from nature." It should
be noticed also that Gould appeared as a subscriber to _The Birds of
America_ in 1838, but his name was soon dropped.

Gould was preëminently a museum naturalist, of strong commercial
instincts, and spent but little time in the field. His books were
mainly composed of illustrations made by artists from stuffed
specimens, with a text of so thin a quality as to possess little
scientific value; but, as Alfred Newton has remarked, a scientific
character was so adroitly assumed that scientific men have often been
deceived. In his best work, that on the Humming Birds,[116] the plates
are enlivened by numerous specimens of tropical flowers and fruits,
an accessory not so noticeable in his early productions. It has been
said that Gould sought and received Audubon's aid in the composition
of some of his plates, and that thereafter his figures began to show
more vitality. The over-zealous writer quoted above[117] made the
charge that Gould not only received much unacknowledged aid from
Audubon, but copied his drawings; he mentioned five cases of what he
called "picking and stealing," in one of which the Red-headed Pochard
is declared to have been copied from Audubon's Scaup Duck: "here the
trick is so shallow," he adds, "that detection cannot for a moment be
at fault. You see that the Scaup Ducks have been accurately outlined,
then lifted from the original 'grounding,' and let down upon a new one,
by Gould, who found it safer for his pencil to adjust earth and water
differently beneath them, than to tamper in the slightest degree with
the proportions of the figures themselves." Suffice it to say that
there is little or no substantial basis for such odious charges.

Gould is said to have possessed a kind heart under a rather gruff
exterior. The following anecdote of his methods comes at second hand
from his friend and collaborator, Mr. Bowlder Sharpe. Mr. Gould was
invited to dine at a well known country estate, where were gathered
numerous representatives of wealth and aristocracy. The attention
of the ornithologist was soon directed from the guests to a bird on
the lawn, which he was watching intently when dinner was announced;
abruptly leaving the table with the remark that dinner was of no
consequence to him when he could study a bird, he returned to the
window and stood there munching a roll or piece of bread. Of course
the seated guests began to inquire who the peculiar individual was, and
were quietly informed by their host that it was "Mr. Gould, the famous
ornithologist." The meal over, Gould selected a promising looking young
nobleman and began to tell him about the habits of the bird which had
so fascinated him; "that species," he said, "I have described in my
_Birds of Europe_. Of course, you have seen my _Birds of Europe_." The
nobleman was obliged to admit that he had not. "Why," said Mr. Gould,
"you must have seen it; every country gentleman has it in his library.
Won't you let me put you down for a copy?" Naturally he could not
refuse a work which every country gentleman possessed, and down went
his name on the list; later he received the volumes and also a bill
for fifty pounds. John Gould is said to have left a fortune of eighty
thousand pounds.

Probably no class of men with kindred tastes are bound together
with stronger ties of good fellowship than the naturalists. Their
free-masonry extends to every clime and race, and knows no distinction
of language, class or station; but, as with all serious workers,
occasional jealousies or disputes occur to ruffle the serenity of
their lives. Though we have been obliged to touch upon some of these
incidents, they are nevertheless quite exceptional.

CHAPTER XXX

AUDUBON AND MACGILLIVRAY

In London once more—MacGillivray's assistance
continued—Return to Edinburgh—MacGillivray's character
and accomplishments—Audubon's acknowledgments—Tributes
of "Christopher North"—Results of overwork—Fusilades
from "Walton Hall"—Progress of the large plates.

Audubon's return voyage, begun in mid-April, lasted twenty days, and
was one of the uneventful, "not unpleasant sort." Liverpool was reached
in early May, and later in the month the Audubons were again settled in
London, where on June 1, 1834, the naturalist wrote to Edward Harris:

We found Victor at home in the evening of our arrival; I
thought that the very sight of him was a restoration of
life to me, and our happiness was as complete as it may
ever be expected on _this Earth_.

After all, I long to be in America again, nay, if I can
go home to return no more to Europe, it seems to me that
I shall ever enjoy more peace of mind, & even Physical
comfort than I can meet with in any portion of the world
beside.[118]

While at Charleston in the previous winter, Audubon had worked
diligently at his letterpress, and no doubt, before returning to
Europe had his "biographical" materials well in hand. We have seen
that at Edinburgh in the autumn of 1830 he entered upon a businesslike
arrangement with William MacGillivray to assist him with the technical
portions of the _Ornithological Biography_. The part which his young
assistant played in this work was long a subject of dispute, until
letters of both which showed the precise character of the relations
between them were finally published.

Immediately upon his return to England Audubon again applied to his
young friend, and received from him the following letter:[119]

_William MacGillivray to Audubon_

EDINBURGH, 11 GILMORE PLACE.
_28th May 1834._

DEAR SIR,

I am glad to hear of your safe arrival, which I did
not expect so soon, and pleased to find you in good
health and high spirits. As you have the kindness to
inquire respecting myself and family, I am happy to
inform you that we are all very well, contented and
busy. My head and hands are quite full—abundance of work
and sufficient pay—time to ramble now and then for the
purpose of hammering rocks, pulling plants, and shooting
birds.

You say you have accumulated a mass of materials which
you are desirous of seeing in print, and propose that I
should revise it as before. I shall be glad to do so, if
you please, and willing that you confer the benefit on
another, if you find it expedient. As to the terms, let
them be such as you please with respect to money; but as
time is valuable to me, I should like that arrangements
be made so as to prevent unnecessary loss of it, by
letting me have manuscripts, books, &c. in due array.

The skins of which you speak I apprehend cannot be
disposed of here to any great extent; but I believe
shells might be sold to advantage, and bring higher
prices than in London.

You ask if I draw Birds yet, with a view to publish.
My answer is that I dissect, describe, and draw Birds,
Quadrupeds, whales, reptiles, and fishes, with view of
astonishing the world, and bettering my condition. I
have about a hundred drawings, all the size of life,
excepting two dolphins. But I have determined nothing
as yet respecting publication. Some time ago a friend
of mine called on Mr. Havell with a letter in which
I desired that person to engrave for me a few of my
drawings, for the purpose of being exhibited at the
meeting of naturalists. I had no answer, and so Mr.
Havell may go to Jerico, or elsewhere, as he lists; but
further your correspondent saith not.

I am decidedly of opinion that, although you should
continue the publication of the Ornithological
Biography, you might bring out various other works which
could not fail to be popular; for example a biography of
yourself, and sketches of American scenery. But of these
matters it is impossible to speak to purpose unless I
had the pleasure of seeing you, a pleasure which I hope
I shall have at the time of the general assembly of the
naturalists.

With best respects to Mrs. Audubon, and best wishes for
the prosperity of all that bear that name, I have the
honour to be, Dear Sir, yours in sincerity,

W MACGILLIVRAY.

[Superscribed] JOHN J. AUDUBON, ESQR. MR. HAVELL,
77 Oxford St. London.

[Illustration: AUDUBON

AFTER THE ENGRAVING BY H. B. HALL OF THE PORTRAIT PAINTED BY
HENRY INMAN IN 1833.]

A satisfactory arrangement was made and MacGillivray set to work on
Audubon's second volume. On the 16th of June he wrote from Edinburgh:

If you send me twenty or twenty-five articles, I can
revise them without the books to which you refer, and
without your own presence, provided your descriptions be
full, and the drawings or plates sent to me. The skins
and books might be consulted afterwards, when we might
go over the articles in company. Should you come here
for the purpose, it would not, I believe, be necessary
for you to stay more than three weeks or so.... To be
methodical I should like twenty-five birds, that is
description of birds, by your first parcel; but I cannot
state precisely at what time they might be revised, only
I think were you to send them, you might make a trip to
France and be back before I should be done.[120]

By the 9th of July MacGillivray had received the twenty-five
descriptions of birds called for, and on the 18th of that month he
wrote to report progress as follows:

I commenced my operations on the 1st of July, and have
transcribed and corrected eighteen articles, one _for_
each day, but not one _on_ each, the work of Sunday
being transferred to Monday. This volume will certainly
be much richer and more interesting.... You wish to know
my opinion as to the improvement of your style. It seems
to me to be much the same as before, but the information
which you give is more diversified & more satisfactory.

On more than one occasion MacGillivray urged Audubon to reduce the
size of his text, and in the letter just quoted he said: "Had it been
of the post 8vo size, in two volumes it would have gone off in style;
but your imperial size and regal price do not answer for radicals, or
republicans either. Could you _sacrifice_ the first volume, reprint
it of a small size and continue the series to the end?" He remarked
that if twenty woodcuts or engravings were added to each volume, "it
would spread over the land like a flock of migratory pigeons. Even
without the embellishments it would fly, but were you to give it those
additional wings, it would sweep along in beautiful curves, like the
nighthawk or the purplebreasted swallow." "I have often thought," he
continued, "that your stories would sell very well by themselves, and I
am sure that with your celebrity, knowledge, and enthusiasm, you have
it in your power to become more _popular_ than your glorious pictures
can ever make you of themselves, they being too aristocratic and
exclusive."

Audubon kept MacGillivray supplied with materials, while he remained
in London during the summer of 1834. On the 25th of August he wrote
Bachman that he had sold bird skins to the British Museum to the amount
of fifty-two pounds sterling, and again for twenty-five pounds, while
Havell had disposed of a goodly number more, so that "he would not be
a loser in that way"; he added: "My own double collection I have in
drawers at home." Acting evidently upon Swainson's advice, Audubon
began to accumulate a large and valuable collection of the skins of
American birds, which he brought with him to America in 1839.[121]
Though rightly criticized for not having deposited in some museum
a complete series of the forms which he described, Elliott Coues
certainly was not justified in remarking that his interest in a bird
ceased from the moment he had made a drawing of it; on the contrary,
he spent no end of time and lavished large sums of money on collections
to illustrate variation in every description, as well as for anatomical
dissection.

A hint thrown out by MacGillivray seems to have been well taken, for in
the letter just quoted Audubon said: "This coming winter I will spend
at writing my _own_ Biography, to be published as soon as possible, and
to be continued, as God may be pleased to grant me life." As already
noticed,[122] this effort resulted only in a fragmentary sketch, which
was not published for over half a century.

Audubon started for Edinburgh in September of 1834. He wrote to
Edward Harris from Liverpool, on the 15th of that month, to inquire
into the truth of a report, which had circulated in London, of the
failure of the house in New Orleans "in which our friend N. Berthoud is
concerned." "I wish you would have the kindness to inform me," he adds,
"if he is a sufferer by this mishap, and I wish you to keep this quite
_entre nous_."

At a slightly earlier day Audubon had entertained the idea of
illustrating the birds of Great Britain on a scale commensurate with
his work on those of America, but on May 1, 1828, he wrote Swainson
that no one favored the project, and it was quickly given up. The
subject is referred to by MacGillivray, in a letter written from
Edinburgh, May 7, 1831: "As I understand your proposals respecting the
Birds of Britain to have ended in nothing, and as you do not allude
to the subject, I shall suppose all your ideas to have dispersed, and
shall think of the matter myself." The first volume of MacGillivray's
_History of British Birds_ appeared six years later.[123] It is evident
that he wished to obtain Audubon's criticism of some of the drawings
subsequently used in this work when he sent the following formal
note[124] to his lodgings at Edinburgh:

[Illustration: LETTER OF WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY TO AUDUBON, OCTOBER
22. 1834.

From the Howland MSS.]

_William MacGillivray to Audubon_

EDINBURGH, _22d. october, 1834_.

DEAR SIR,

I take the liberty of sending you a collection of
drawings made by myself, and intended for a work on the
vertebrate animals of Great Britain. The astonishing
success with which you have depicted a whole class of
the productions of your native land, as evinced in the
incomparable delineations of your "Birds of America,"
renders your opinions respecting ornithological
drawings of the very highest authority; and I have
been anxious to submit my attempts to your decision,
which, if unfavourable, will induce me to remedy my
defects, or, if otherwise, will encourage me to proceed
with an undertaking, which by its arduousness and
extent, is precisely suited to my disposition. I shall
therefore feel grateful for the expression of your
ideas respecting the Drawings, and I request that should
you favour me with it, you will not scruple to censure
freely, should you find occasion.

I have the honour to be, Dear Sir,
your most obedient servant,

W. MACGILLIVRAY.

[Addressed] To J. J. AUDUBON, Esqe.
Edinburgh.

Audubon and MacGillivray finished their work in November, and by
the first of December the manuscript of the second volume of the
_Ornithological Biography_ was in the printer's hands. On the 10th of
the latter month Audubon wrote to Bachman from Edinburgh: "I am quite
sure I never have been half as anxious as I am at this moment to do
all in my power to _compleat_ my vast enterprise, and sorrowful indeed
would be my dying moments if this book of mine were not finished ere my
eyes are for ever closed." The naturalist was thinking of materials for
new "Episodes" for the work when he added:

Try to study the habits of the alligator, the time of
its propagation, number of eggs, form of the nest, &c.,
&c., &c. I long to possess all respecting this reptile
(amphibian) [sic] for my article of the Wood Ibis and
Sand Hill Crane, for it will make a fine picture on
paper, and I can show Waterton the _bold_ astride of
one's bare back in great style.

By now Docr. Parkman has at least a portion of the
letter press and I hope has begun printing the second
vol. of Biog. 750 copies for America, and the same
number are printing here. I wish you would cut out from
all newspapers the pros and cons about me.

[Illustration: PART OF THE ORIGINAL DRAFT OF AUDUBON'S MANUSCRIPT
FOR THE INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME II OF THE "ORNITHOLOGICAL
BIOGRAPHY," GIVING NAMES OF PERSONS TO WHOM HE CARRIED LETTERS OF
INTRODUCTION ON HIS FIRST VISIT TO LONDON IN 1827. From the Howland
MSS.]

We thus have from Audubon himself a definite statement in regard to
the publication of his _Biography_ of Birds in America, and as to the
number of copies issued.

MacGillivray immediately agreed to "revise and correct" Audubon's
forthcoming third and fourth volumes, and that he was quite satisfied
with their method of cooperation is shown by the following definite
statement of his contract:

_William MacGillivray to Audubon_

EDINBURGH _15th December 1834_.

DEAR SIR,

Agreeably to your request I hereby bind and oblige
myself to revise and correct the third and fourth
volumes of your work entitled "Ornithological Biography"
at the same rate as the two first volumes, namely at Two
Pounds Two Shillings per sheet; as well as to revise,
for a sum to be subsequently determined, any other work
which you may intend to publish.

I have the honour to be Dear Sir,
your most obedt. Servant

W. MACGILLIVRAY.

To JOHN J. AUDUBON Esq.

When William MacGillivray first met Audubon, in the autumn of 1830, he
was an enthusiastic naturalist of four and thirty, young, but, as we
have seen, a thorough anatomist, who stood firmly on his own feet and
was destined to advance his favorite study in a notable degree. Audubon
at this time was forty-five, but in anatomy the older man gladly sat at
the feet of the younger and acknowledged him master; while this young
anatomist was dissecting, Audubon in the _rôle_ of student was seated
by his side, and we may be sure that little escaped his penetrating
eye and keen intelligence. To MacGillivray, on the other hand, Audubon
was master of his art, and to him he looked for criticism of his own
artistic efforts; after him he named a son, and to him dedicated a
child of his brain.[125] In short, MacGillivray looked upon Audubon
as his best friend in the world, and the latter fully appreciated
his indebtedness to this able assistant. MacGillivray continued to
aid Audubon with his letterpress, revising and probably contributing
most of the technical details; in the fourth and concluding volumes,
published in 1838 and 1839, the large store of anatomical matter and
many excellent drawings were duly acknowledged as coming from his
hand. His own writings were varied and numerous, but were generally
characterized by a high degree of excellence. His _History of British
Birds_, in five volumes (1837-1852), was too extended and too technical
ever to become popular, but in that work, for the first time in the
history of science, classification was placed on a strictly anatomical
basis. MacGillivray even followed Audubon to some extent by introducing
into this work "delineations of British scenery and character," but
under another head. The sixth of his "Lessons in Practical Ornithology"
recounts in dialogue form the experiences of two friends in tramping
the Pentland Hills together; says "Physiophilus" [himself], "You must
have many fine songsters in America"; to which "Ornithologus" [Audubon]
replies:

That we have indeed. The Mocking Bird, of course, stands
first in my opinion, and is unrivalled. Then, perhaps
on account of my own sensitive nature, I would place
next the Wood Thrush, although the Cat Bird is far its
superior in many points, as is also the Turdus rufus.
Think of our Rose-breasted Pine and Blue Grosbeaks, how
mellow and sweet their continuous songs are, whether by
day or during calm nights. Watch the varied ditties of
the Orchard Oriole, and the loud and more musical notes
of its brother, the Golden Hangnest. You have never
heard the Tawny Thrush or the Hermit Thrush, otherwise,
believe me, you would have enjoyed much delicious
pleasure....

William MacGillivray was a man of the finest character and an honor
to the best traditions of British scholarship; in his enthusiasm and
indefatigable energy he was fully a match to Audubon. For nearly twelve
years (1841-1852) he was an honored lecturer and professor in Marischal
College and University, Aberdeen, where he died, probably as a result
of overwork in the field, in 1852, thus outliving his older friend
but one year. His last completed work, _Natural History of Deeside and
Braemar_, was published under the patronage of Queen Victoria and by
her command privately printed, under the editorship of E. Lancaster, in
1855. MacGillivray's surviving son, whose career as a field naturalist
was also cut short by too strenuous work, accompanied Huxley, then an
assistant surgeon in the Royal Navy, on the memorable voyage of the
_Rattlesnake_ under Captain Owen Stanley in 1842. MacGillivray was
honored when alive, and though dead has not been forgotten; in 1890 a
beautiful tablet was dedicated to him in Aberdeen, and at the same time
a worthy monument was raised to his memory at Edinburgh.[126]

In authorship the public is mainly interested in seeing merit duly
acknowledged. Said Audubon, in the introductory address to his first
volume:

There are persons whose desire of obtaining celebrity
induces them to suppress the knowledge of the assistance
which they have received in the composition of their
works. In many cases, in fact, the real author of the
drawings or the descriptions in books on Natural History
is not so much as mentioned, while the pretended author
assumes to himself all the merit which the world is
willing to allow him. This want of candour I could
never endure. On the contrary, I feel pleasure in here
acknowledging the assistance which I have received from
a friend, Mr. William MacGillivray, who being possessed
of a liberal education and a strong taste for the study
of the Natural Sciences, has aided me, not in drawing
the figures of my Illustrations, nor in writing the book
now in your hand, although fully competent for both
tasks, but in completing the scientific details, and
in smoothing down the asperities of my Ornithological
Biographies.

In the introduction to Volume IV he added that the

anatomical descriptions, as well as the sketches by
which they are sometimes illustrated, have been executed
by my learned friend, William MacGillivray, who in the
most agreeable manner consented to undertake the labour,
by no means small, of such a task, and to whom those
who are interested in the progress of Ornithological
science, as well as myself, must therefore feel
indebted.

Audubon evidently believed that this printed acknowledgment was just;
MacGillivray was as plainly satisfied, so that complaints which have
been made against the naturalist on this score seem to have been
rather groundless. It might be noticed that bookmaking at that time
was regarded as more of a trade than at present; as Sir Walter Besant
remarks, a traveler would often give his notes to a bookseller, who in
turn would hand them over to a literary hack to be cast into suitable
form.

[Illustration: AUDUBON'S INSCRIPTION IN THE COPY OF THE
"ORNITHOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY" PRESENTED TO WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY]

A fine token of the friendship which existed between these two men was
discovered in the summer of 1903 in a London bookshop, where it was
found reflected in the pages of a handsomely bound copy of Audubon's
_Biography of Birds_; on the title pages were inscribed the autographs
of William MacGillivray, while on the first page of the introduction to
the first volume the hand of Audubon had written this dedication:

These volumes are presented to William MacGillivray with
sentiments of the highest esteem and best wishes by his
truly and sincerely attached friend

JOHN J. AUDUBON

Edinburgh July 1 t 1839.

Professor John Wilson gave the third volume of the _Ornithological
Biography_ a very handsome notice in _Blackwood's Magazine_, and on New
Year's Day, 1836, Audubon acknowledged the compliment in the following
letter:[127]

_Audubon to John Wilson_ ("_Christopher North_")

MY DEAR FRIEND:—

The first hour of this new year was ushered to me
surrounded by my dear flock, all comfortably seated
around a small table in middle-sized room, where I
sincerely wished you had been also, to witness the
flowing gladness of our senses, as from one of us
"Audubon's Ornithological Biography" was read from your
ever valuable Journal. I wished this because I felt
assured that your noble heart would have received our
most grateful thanks with pleasure, the instant our
simple ideas had conveyed to you the grant of happiness
we experienced at your hands. You were not with us,
alas! but to make amends the best way we could, all of
a common accord drank to the health, prosperity, and
long life, of our generous, talented, and ever kind
friend, Professor John Wilson, and all those amiable
beings who cling around his heart! May those our
sincerest wishes reach you soon, and may they be sealed
by Him who granted us existence, and the joys heaped
upon the "American woodsman" and his family, in your
hospitable land, and may we deserve all the benefits we
have received in your ever dear country, although it
may prove impossible to us to do more than to be ever
grateful to her worthy sons.

Accept our respectful united regards, and offer them to
your family, whilst I remain, with highest esteem, your
truly thankful friend and most obedient servant,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

Wilson had said in his earlier review:

We do not believe that till within these few years,
he had any practice in composition.... Yet Genius,
if from circumstances behindhand in any common
accomplishment, soon supplies it—soon makes up its
lee-way—or rather, it has only to try to do what it has
never done before, and it succeeds in it to admiration.
Audubon, who had written but little even in his native
tongue—French—under a powerful motive, took to writing
English; and he was not long in learning to write it
well, not only with fluency, but eloquence, as the fine
extracts we have quoted show in unfading colours.

The following comment on Audubon's second volume of the _Biography_
appeared in the _Athenæum_ for 1835:

If only considered as evidence that it is in the power
of man to achieve whatever he _wills_, and that no
obstacles are too great to be overcome by energy and
devotion of purpose, it would claim our good will and
best wishes.

He has told what he has seen and undergone, not perhaps
in the smooth nicely balanced periods of a drawing-room
writer ... but with unstudied freedom, rising at times
to eloquence, nor been ashamed to utter the thousand
affectionate and benevolent feelings which a close and
enthusiastic communion with nature must nourish. The
work is full of the man.

The winter and spring of 1835 were spent in London, and though
suffering from the strain of overwork, Audubon kept doggedly at his
tasks. On April 20 he wrote to Bachman:

Immediately on my arrival in London I set to writing,
and finished in one month, one 4th. of the Biographies
of my 3d. vol. This rendering me _puffy_, I could
scarcely breathe—my appetite was gone—my digestion
bad—in other words I was attacked by Dyspepsia as bad as
ever. Then I thought of a change of work—for in change
of labour the body and the mind undergo sure and certain
relief. I took to Drawing! and what do you think—I have
positively finished 33 drawings of American birds in
England. This has enabled me to swell my 3d. vol. of
Illustrations with 57 species not given by Wilson and
therefore forestalling my friend Charles Bonaparte.

On the 28th of April Audubon wrote to Edward Harris, begging him
to send specimens of certain birds which he needed, as well as a
circumstantial account of the shad fisheries of the Delaware River
as material for an "Episode" for the third volume of his _Biography_;
the fiftieth number of his illustrations was then in the hands of the
colorist. He continued:[128]

I thought better to push my publication on account of
the woeful dulling of the times in this country, where
political strife engrosses the mind of every person so
much that arts and sciences are, as it were, put on
the shelves. Ministers are beings of six weeks lives
now-a-days. The Reformers are struggling against the
Tories, and vice versa. The Churchmen are aghast at the
prospect of the future, and all this puts a complete
stoppage to business, independent of such matters. Even
since my return to England I have obtained only two or
three subscribers, and have lost more than a dozen;
nay, I may safely say, two dozen. In America, on the
contrary, things appear to go on more prosperously.
May God's will grant a long continuation of this to our
_only Land_ of Liberty. France, you will have heard, has
at last passed an order for the payment of her debts
to the citizens of the United States, and I hope that
this may prove amply sufficient to save us from having
a war with that powerful nation.... I wrote you that
Dr. George Parkman, of Boston, would have my 2d. volume
of Biographies reprinted in his city. I have seen 100
pages of this reprint here, but do not know if the Vol.
(American Ed.) has appeared before the Public?

My—Friends—erton, Ord & Co. keep up their curious
animadversions against me still—methinks they must
be shockingly mortified at my stubborn silence toward
them. Some unknown friends now & then reply to their
absurdities.

His persistent heckler, Charles Waterton, was quite busy at this time,
four articles having been directed against Audubon or his friends in
1835, though this was not his most prolific year. A similar reference
occurs in a letter written to Bachman from Edinburgh on the 20th of
July: "As to the rage of Mr. Waterton, or the lucubrations of Mr. Neal,
who by the bye is a subscriber to the Birds of America (bona fide), I
really care not a fig—all such stuffs will soon evaporate, being mere
smoke from a Dung Hill."

In the summer of 1835 Audubon was again established in Edinburgh and
working with unremitting vigor at his _Biography_; some idea of the
speed which he maintained when able to devote himself unreservedly to
this task can be gathered from the fact that after the issue of his
second volume, of 620 large pages, in December, 1834, the third, of 654
pages, was published in just a year from that time. He wrote to Edward
Harris from Edinburgh on the 5th of July, when engaged in this work:

I intend to write a few ["Episodes"] of such
extraordinary men, now deceased, with whom I have been
acquainted—Thomas Bewick, and Baron Cuvier, for example.

We receive no new subscribers in Europe. The taste
is passing for Birds like a flitting shadow—Insects,
reptiles and fishes are now the rage, and these fly,
swim or crawl on pages innumerable in every Bookseller's
window. When this is also passed, naturalists will
have to turn over a new leaf and commence afresh, or go
to the antipodes in search of materials to please the
taste for novelty's sake.—However my work will I hope be
finished ere I leave this world, and must be appreciated
in years to come, when perhaps my childrens' children
will feel proud of their gone ancestor, "The American
Woodsman." You see my Dear Friend how far enthusiasm
and a portion of the like for standing fame carries
even your humble servant a man with no other means
than his industry and prudence as a means of support,
and one with scarce the motive of education. There are
moments, and they are not far between, when thinking
of my present enormous undertaking, I wonder how I have
been able to support the extraordinary amount of monies
paid for the work alone, without taking cognizance
of my family and my expeditions, which ever and anon
travelling as we are from place to place and country
to country are also very great. When I publish my Life
and let the world know that Audubon like Wilson, was at
Phila. without the half of a Dollar, and that had it not
been for benevolent generosity of a certain Gentleman
whose name is Edward Harris, Audubon must have walked
off from one of the fairest of our Cities like a beggar
does in poor Ireland, left destitute of all things save
his humble talents, and his determination to produce
something worthy of the soul of man: I say my dear
Harris will not the world stare! Poor Wilson was only
better off than I on account of his superior talents
over me at driving the goose quill, but much similarity
still seems to have [existed] in both of us, as I could
drive the pencil, the brush, the Fiddle bow and even the
"Fleuret" [better] than he.

Audubon wrote to Harris again from Edinburgh, on September 5, when he
said:

Between you and I the measurements of different Birds
given by Wilson are hardly to be depended upon, as I
constantly discover a great deficiency in this part
of his descriptions which indeed in some cases are
otherwise slack, and given as if when fatigued or vexed.
Nay I even think at times that he has copied _Authors_
and not nature? as in the instance of the Oyster
Catcher, which I fear he made & figured from a European
one in the Philadelphia museum, took the descriptions
from _Latham_, and described the Habits of Palliartus
which is our own Bird and it seems the only species
to be met with in America, at least on our Atlantic
coast. Wilson committed the same blunder with the Rallus
elegans which he _figured_ and described the habits of
the R. capitans for it! I could enumerate more instances
of carelessness, but poor Wilson is dead and may God
bless his soul!

The third volume of his letterpress,[129] which dealt with the water
birds of America, made its appearance at the close of 1835; in the
introduction he said:

I look forward to the summer of 1838 with an anxious
hope that I may then be able to present you with the
last plate of my Illustrations, and the concluding
volume of my Biographies. To render these volumes as
complete as possible, I intend to undertake a journey to
the southern and western limits of the Union, with the
view of obtaining a more accurate knowledge of the birds
of those remote and scarcely inhabited regions. On this
tour I shall be accompanied by my youngest son, while
the rest of my family will remain in Britain to direct
the progress of my publication.

[Illustration: EARLY UNPUBLISHED DRAWINGS OF AMERICAN BIRDS: ABOVE,
"CAPRIMULGUS VOCIFERUS. WHIPPOORWILL FEMELLE. A. W. MAY 7TH, 1812.
PENNSA. NO. II"; BELOW, "ROBIN A. WILLSON. TURDUS MIGRATORIUS.
LITORNE DU CANADA—MALE—BUFFON—DRAWN BY J. J. AUDUBON JANY. 4,
1807—NEW YORK. NO. 102."

Published by courtesy of Mr. Joseph Y. Jeanes.]

Audubon returned to London with his family early in 1836, visiting
Newcastle, York, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield by the way, and took a
house at Number 4, Wimpole Street, Cavendish Square. As Mrs. Audubon's
health was anything but good, they were fortunate in having as a
neighbor in this street an eminent surgeon, Benjamin Phillips,[130] and
this friend was also a subscriber to _The Birds of America_. "Were I to
mention," said Audubon,

the many occasions on which he has aided me by his
advice and superior knowledge of the world, you would
be pleased to find so much disinterestedness in human
nature. His professional aid too, valuable as it has
proved to us, and productive of much inconvenience to
him, has been rendered without reward, for I could never
succeed in inducing him to consider us his patients,
although for upwards of two years he never passed a day
without seeing my wife.

In the spring of 1836 Audubon's two sons made a tour of France and
Italy; on the 9th of March he wrote to Harris that they expected
to leave England in a week, be gone three and a half months, visit
Paris, Rome and Messina, and return by way of Marseilles and Paris.
With the passage of 1836 he had completed 70 numbers, of 350 plates,
of his larger work, leaving but 85 plates yet to be engraved. Though
anxious to see this greatest of his tasks brought to an end, he still
looked with longing eyes to the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast,
and began preparations for his last journey to obtain materials and
subscribers in the United States.

CHAPTER XXXI

THIRD AMERICAN TOUR, 1836-1837

In New York harbor—Collections from the Far
West—Audubon's efforts to secure them—Return to
Boston—Friendship of Daniel Webster—Renewed efforts to
obtain the Nuttall-Townsend collection—Expedition to the
west coast of Florida—Deferred governmental aid—Another
winter with Bachman—Overland journey to New Orleans—On
board the _Crusader_—Mistaken for pirates—With Harris
and his son explores the Gulf Coast—The Republic of
Texas—Visit to its capital and president—Meeting in
Charleston—Marriage of his son—Their return to England.

Audubon left London with his son, John, July 30, 1836, and on the
second day of August sailed from Portsmouth on the packet _Gladiator_,
bound for New York. Two hundred and sixty live birds had preceded
them to the ship, while three dogs came as a present from the Earl of
Derby, and "a brace of tailless cats from our friend George Thackeray,
D.D., provost of King's College": all had suffered somewhat from
lack of care, but the dogs, one of which was sent to John Bachman of
Charleston, and some of the birds crossed the Atlantic in safety. Five
weeks were spent at sea; when the Navesink Highlands at last hove into
view the welcome news spread rapidly over the ship; rockets were sent
up later to attract a pilot, and when anchor was grounded on American
soil, Audubon confessed that he cried like a child and devoutly thanked
God for their preservation. He continued:

All was now bustle and mutual congratulations; our
commander was praised for his skill by some, and others
praised his whisky, which the waiters handed about,
and the night was nearly spent in revelry; but John
and myself retired at two o'clock.... As a gleam of
daylight appeared, my eyes searched through the hazy
atmosphere to catch a glimpse of the land, and gradually
Staten Island opened to my view; then the boat of the
custom-house appeared, and soon he boarded us, arranged
the sailors and passengers on deck, and called their
names. Then followed breakfast, and soon another boat,
with a yellow flag flying, landed the health officer,
and there being no sickness on board, myself and John
returned to Staten Island in the doctor's boat, and were
taken by the steamer Hercules to the city.[131]

Audubon remained in New York from the 7th to the 13th of September. On
Sunday, the 12th, he wrote to Edward Harris, in part as follows:[132]

_Audubon to Edward Harris_

MY DEAR FRIEND—

... Whilst running over the interesting list of the
Species of Birds procured by Nuttall & Townsend in
the Rocky Mountains, and the shores of the Pacific, I
became so completely wrapt up with the desire to see
these as soon as possible that I have concluded to go
to Philadelphia tomorrow by the 10 o'clock boat. I will
stay at Harlan's for two or three days and hope that
you will meet me there, that I may have the pleasure of
pressing your hand and talking to you.

You well know how anxious I am to make my work on the
Birds of our Country as compleat as possible within my
power:—you know that to reach this end I have spared
neither time, labours or money: you are also aware that
although this undertaking may never remunerate me, I am
so enthusiastic as to indulge in the hope that God will
grant me life to effect all this; but I am becoming old,
and though very willing doubt whether I could support
the fatigues connected with a journey of several years,
and separated from my dear Family. Well the desiderata
has come to Philadelphia at least in part, and if I
could be allowed to pourtray the new species now there
as an appendix to the Birds of America, I should be
proud and happy to do so, but do you think that the
Academy is likely to indulge me in this my wish? Do
join me at Harlan's as soon as you can, and lend me a
hand and try to promote my views through mutual Friends
attatched to that Institution.

Audubon also communicated at once with John Bachman, whom he had
planned to visit on his journey south, but soon learned that the
cholera had broken out in Charleston and that the Seminoles were on the
warpath in Florida. Said Bachman, writing on September 14:

With regard to Florida, nothing will be done by
naturalists for at least two years. Your Indian friends,
the cut-throats, have scalped almost every woman and
child south of St. Augustine, save those on Key West.
They have burnt and plundered every plantation; and
although they will probably be, in a great measure, put
down next winter, yet there will, undoubtedly, remain
many small predatory bands that will make no bones of
scalping at Ornithologist _secundum artem_; and would
ask no questions whether he were the friend or enemy
of William Penn. Of Texas, I think better, and thither,
or along its borders, you may, I think, venture—for the
Texans are our friends. I suppose Genl. Gaines will keep
the Comanches quiet.[133]

Bachman kept his friends informed of the progress of the epidemic,
which had placed an embargo over his city; at the same time he sent
news of the Anhingas, Caracara Eagles and Cormorants, which had
been successfully held in captivity for the naturalist, and added:
"These are awful times in money matters, but of this you will hear
enough when we meet. Everyone nearly has failed, but the Parsons and
Ornithologists."

On September 13 Audubon started for Philadelphia, anxious to see
with his own eyes those western collections which had so stirred his
curiosity. It seems that in 1834, Dr. Thomas Nuttall and Dr. John Kirk
Townsend set out on a journey to the mouth of the Columbia River;
Nuttall was first of all a botanist, and is said to have carried no
gun, but Townsend was an experienced ornithologist and made extensive
collections of birds, a part of which he sent in care of Nuttall to
Philadelphia in 1835, although he himself did not return east until the
close of 1837. One of Audubon's great ambitions had been to explore the
regions which they had recently visited, and in the circumstances we
can sympathize with his desire to acquire so valuable an acquisition
for the work upon which he had been long engaged. The object of his
immediate quest apparently had been entrusted to the Academy of Natural
Sciences, an institution which had not always shown itself friendly
to his claims, and which in this instance is said to have assisted
the travelers with funds to prosecute their journey. The collection,
said Audubon, contained "about forty new species of birds, and its
value cannot be described." Balked in his initial efforts to obtain
the coveted prize, after two days of fruitless efforts on the part of
his Philadelphia friends, he returned to New York; Edward Harris then
came forward with the offer of $500 for the purchase of the collection
outright, but negotiations were not immediately successful.

With his hunger still unappeased, Audubon now visited Boston on a
canvassing tour, while his son remained with Nicholas Berthoud at New
York. Setting out on the 20th of September, he traveled by the steamer
_Massachusetts_ and the Providence Railroad, paying seven dollars fare,
"which included supper and breakfast"; the sail up Providence Bay in
early morning was like a "fairy dream," and the locomotive in waiting
then pulled the passengers from "Providence to Boston at the rate of
fifteen miles an hour." We arrived, said he, at four in the afternoon:
"a cart took my trunk, and placing myself by the side of the owner, we
drove to the house of my friend, Dr. George C. Shattuck."

On the day after his arrival, Audubon visited Thomas M. Brewer, then
a young ornithologist living at Roxbury, to examine his collection
of bird skins and eggs, and upon his return called on David Eckley,
"the great salmon fisher," to whom he later presented a copy of his
folio plates of _The Birds of America_.[134] Brewer, who later became
a physician and distinguished ornithologist, for many years was one of
Audubon's valued correspondents and supplied him with much interesting
material. On the following day Audubon met Thomas Nuttall,[135] who at
once promised him duplicates of all the new birds which he had brought
from the West. Colonel Thomas H. Perkins, an early subscriber, Edward
Everett, who had befriended him in Washington, and who in 1836 became
Governor of Massachusetts, Josiah Quincy, president of Harvard College,
Dr. Bowditch, and other prominent characters, all extended a helping
hand. He visited Salem to deliver his letters, and was successful in
obtaining a number of subscribers; upon invitation of the curator of
the Natural History Society there, he examined "the young collection
of that newborn institution," and had "the good fortune to find one
egg of the American bittern." On the 25th of September he wrote Harris:
"Nuttall has arrived—he breakfasted with me the other day—gave me 6 new
species of Birds and tells me that he will urge both Townsend and the
Society at Philadelphia to allow me to portray all the species which
they have procured within the limits of our Territories."

In Boston, September 27, 1836, Audubon made this note in his
journal:[136] "The citizens are all excitement; guns are firing, flags
flying, and troops parading and John Quincy Adams is delivering a
eulogy on the late President Madison. The mayor of Boston did me the
honor to invite me to join in the procession, but I am no politician
and declined." He noted on the same day also that Dr. Shattuck had
completed the subscription list of the Boston Society of Natural
History "by presenting me to his lady, who subscribed for one-tenth,
and the Dr. then put down his son George's name for one-twentieth,
making his own family one-fourth of the whole, or two hundred and
twenty dollars, for which he gave me his cheque. Without the assistance
of this generous man, it is more than probable that the Society never
would have had a copy of 'The Birds of America.'" Two days later he
met Daniel Webster at the rooms of the Historical Society, and on the
same evening at the home of Isaac P. Davis, where, said Audubon, "we
took tea, talked on ornithology and ornithologists; he promised to send
me some specimens of birds, and finished by subscribing to my work."
Webster also gave him a general note of recommendation, in which he
said:[137] "I take this mode of commending Mr. Audubon to any friends
of mine he may meet in his journey to the west. I have not only great
respect for Mr. Audubon's scientific pursuits, but entertain for him
personally much esteem and hearty good wishes." Mr. Davis exerted
his influence in other directions, and in this instance acted as
agent for the transmission of Audubon's plates to their distinguished
friend; on October 7, he wrote:[138] "I received the half Nos of the
'Birds of America' for the worthy and sublime Danl. Webster—they shall
be delivered safely on his return." After urging Audubon to visit
Buffalo, where Dr. Bowditch and his friends thought that a number of
new subscribers might be procured, he appended a list of twelve likely
names of residents of that city, and added: "Bowdoin College shall be
remembered as the opportunity offers."

Webster, who was an ardent sportsman and well acquainted with the water
fowl of the coast, had volunteered to procure for Audubon specimens of
the Labrador Duck, which was even then extremely rare and has since
become extinct, but was unable to fulfill his promise. Audubon had
already found that many American birds, like the common crow, which had
been regarded as identical with those of the Old World, were in reality
distinct, and was now anxious, as he wrote to Thomas Brewer, "to
compare the anatomy of all our birds with those of the same families
in Europe." His letters to young Brewer at this time show how eager
he was to secure the promised specimens. On October 23 he wrote from
Philadelphia: "I hope you will not forget to call on our enlightened
statesman D. Webster, and remind him of his kind promise to assist
you in the procuring of specimens for me. This winter and next spring
are my only chances, and I beg you to do all you can for me." He wrote
again from Charleston, January 1, 1837: "I am sorry that the Hon. D.
Webster has not attended to his promises, and will write to him; yet I
would beg you, being on the spot, _to trouble him a good deal_."[139]

After returning to New York, Audubon had a visitor for whom he
expressed the greatest admiration, Washington Irving, who had aided
him in 1833; he now received from his hands letters to Martin Van
Buren, the President-elect, and Benjamin F. Butler, who then occupied
the post of Attorney-General. Irving called attention in his letter
to the national character of Audubon's work, and warmly commended it
to the patronage of the country at large. On October 8 Audubon wrote
MacGillivray from New York that he had obtained twelve new subscribers,
two at Salem, four at Boston, and six in New York, but a little later,
through the aid of Nicholas Berthoud, in one week's time eighteen new
names were added to his subscription list in New York City alone.

Meanwhile Nuttall's and Townsend's birds had not been forgotten, and
on October 15 he started with his son for Philadelphia, where he was
again welcomed by Dr. Richard Harlan. No sooner, however, were efforts
renewed to gain permission to study the desired objects than new
obstacles were encountered. To quote the naturalist:[140]

Having obtained access to the collection sent by Dr.
Townsend, I turned over and over the new and rare
species, but he was absent at Fort Vancouver, on the
shores of the Columbia River; Thomas Nuttall had not
yet come from Boston, and loud murmurs were uttered by
the _soi-disant_ friends of science, who objected to
my seeing, much less portraying and describing, those
valuable relics of birds, many of which had not yet been
introduced into our Fauna.

At length, "it was agreed," to continue his account of the transaction,

that I might _purchase duplicates, provided_ the
specific names agreed upon by Mr. Nuttall and myself
were published in Dr. Townsend's name. This latter part
of the affair was perfectly agreeable to my feelings, as
I have seldom cared much about priority in the naming
of species. I therefore paid for the skins which I
received, and have now published such as proved to be
new, according to my promise. But, let me assure you,
Reader, that seldom, if ever in my life, have I felt
more disgusted with the conduct of any opponents of
mine, than I was with the unfriendly boasters of their
zeal for the advancement of ornithological science, who
at that time existed in the fair city of Philadelphia.

While still in Philadelphia, on October 23, Audubon wrote to Thomas
Brewer that Dr. Morton, the corresponding secretary of the Academy,
had not only permitted him to portray the new birds but had sold him
"ninety odd of the skins, forming a portion of the collection," and
added that with his other acquisitions they would swell his "catalogue
to the number of 475, all of which must be introduced in my fourth
volume."

For many years Audubon had expressed great contempt for all seekers
after priority in the naming of new species of animals, but now he
began to find the pressure from without too strong to be resisted.
Rivalry in this field had become keen on both sides of the Atlantic,
and in the commendable desire to render his work as complete as
possible, he was inevitably drawn into a struggle in which the higher
aspirations of scientific men are all too apt to be obscured by petty
vanities, suspicions and disputes.

While at Philadelphia Audubon paid this fine tribute to the
ornithologist whom he had met at Louisville twenty-six years before,
and whose name had long been a cover for the jealousies and animosities
of supposititious friends: "Passed poor Alexander Wilson's schoolhouse,
and heaved a sigh. Alas, poor Wilson! Would that I could once more
speak to thee, and listen to thy voice!"

Audubon was planning during the coming year to explore the west coast
of Florida, in company with his son and Edward Harris, and to proceed
as far as possible along the coast of Texas. From Philadelphia he
went to Baltimore, and on November 8 he arrived at Washington. His
steadfast friend and supporter, Colonel John James Abert, then at the
head of the Topographical Bureau, took him to the White House to call
on President Andrew Jackson and present his letters. The General,
said Audubon, looked well and was smoking a pipe; after reading his
letters attentively, he said at once: "Mr. Audubon, I will do all in
my power to serve you, but the Seminole war, will, I fear, prevent you
from having a cutter; however, as we shall have a committee at twelve
o'clock, we will consider this, and give you an answer tomorrow."
Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Treasury, was as friendly as ever, and
offered the party passage to Charleston on the _Campbell_, a vessel of
fifty-five tons carrying three guns and twenty-one men, but Audubon,
who was a poor sailor, preferred to travel by land and await the
coming of this boat at the Bachman home. Before leaving the capital
the naturalist and his son were invited to dine informally at the White
House, and he had the opportunity of studying at close range "a man who
had done much good and much evil to our country." Said Audubon of this
dinner:

I sat close to him; we spoke of olden times, and
touched slightly on politics, and I found him very
averse to the cause of the Texans.... The dinner was
what might be called plain and substantial in England;
I dined from a fine young turkey, shot within twenty
miles of Washington. The general drank no wine, but
his health was drunk by us more than once; and he ate
very moderately, his last dish consisting of bread and
milk.[141]

Audubon, with his son, John, left Washington on the 10th of November,
and after traveling six days on one of "the most extraordinary
railroads in the world," they reached the city of Charleston, where,
under the hospitable roof of John Bachman, the party eventually passed
the winter, though momentarily expecting their vessel, which did not
arrive. During this long interval of waiting, Audubon made drawings
of all the new birds in the Nuttall-Townsend collection, representing
upwards of seventy figures, and Miss Maria Martin, Bachman's
sister-in-law, again assisted him in drawing plants and insects.

As spring approached and the long awaited _Campbell_ had not arrived,
Audubon, with Harris and John, started overland for New Orleans. After
several days of hard traveling by coaches they reached Montgomery, and
descended the Alabama River by steamboat to Mobile. When that district
had been ransacked for birds, they went on to Pensacola, where they
learned that the Government cutter would soon be at their service at
New Orleans; accordingly they retraced their steps to Mobile, passed
through the lakes, and entered the southern capital, the city in which
the naturalist had nearly starved, a penniless stranger, sixteen years
before, but which, less than three-quarters of a century later, was
to raise a monument to his memory. He was still destined to a degree
of disappointment, when it was learned that the _Campbell_ could not
be put in readiness before the last of March, but he was delighted to
find that the old pilot of the _Marion_, Napoleon Coste, was to command
this vessel. At New Orleans Audubon met for the last time "good M. Le
Sueur," artist and naturalist, who had spent many years at New Harmony,
Indiana, and whose acquaintance he had first made at Philadelphia in
1824.

Audubon and his party finally left New Orleans on the 1st of April and
entered the Gulf by the Southwest Pass, where, on the 3rd of the month,
they were joined by the _Crusader_, a schooner of twelve tons which was
attached to the Revenue Service; on this journey she carried a crew of
four, with as many guns, and acted as a tender to the larger vessel.
The expedition was provisioned for two months, and aimed to explore
the keys, bayous and shoreline from the Mississippi to the Bay of
Galveston. Some of Audubon's experiences on this cruise were described
in a letter to William MacGillivray,[142] dated "Côte Blanche, 18
April, 1837," which we will now reproduce:

_Audubon to William MacGillivray_

MY DEAR FRIEND,—

Being just now snugly anchored in a bay, the description
of which may prove agreeable to you, I sit down to give
you an account of what I have been doing since I last
wrote to you.

After visiting "Rabbit Island," on which, as I have
already told you, not a single Rabbit or Hare is to
be seen, we made our way between it and Frisky Point,
by a narrow and somewhat difficult channel leading to
the bay in which I now write. The shores around us are
entirely formed of a bank, from twenty to thirty feet
high, and composed of concrete shells of various kinds,
among which the Common Oyster, however, predominates.
This bank, which at present looks as if bleached by the
sunshine and rain of centuries, is so white that it well
might form a guiding line to the vessels which navigate
this bay even in the darkest nights. The bay, however,
is so shallow, that it is rarely entered by vessels
larger than schooners of about seventy tons burthen,
which visit its shores to take in the sugars and cottons
grown in the neighbouring country.

The "Crusader" is a somewhat curious craft, small,
snug withal, and considerably roguish looking. She has
not fewer than four "grunters" on her fore deck, her
sails are of pure white cotton, and although she bears
the lively flag of our country at the peak, her being
painted purely black gives her the aspect, not merely
of a smuggler, but of a pirate. But here she is, at the
entrance of a canal of a sugar plantation, and close to
another craft, much the worse for wear, and, for aught
I know to the contrary, belonging to the captain alone,
who, I would almost venture to assert, belongs to no
country at all.

It is now four weeks since a razor came in contact with
my chin. All my companions are equally hircine; or, if
you please, hirsute. As to our clothing, were you to
see us at this moment, you would be ready to exclaim,
"What vagabonds these fellows are!" Coats and trousers
plastered with mire, shirts no longer white, guns
exhibiting the appearance of being in constant use, and
all sorts of accoutrements that pertain to determined
hunters, complete our _tout ensemble_. But, as I have
said, here we are, and on shore must go. "Man the gig,"
quoth our captain. In a trice the gig is manned. One
after another, for there are five or six of us, we swing
ourselves into the after-sheets. The word is given, the
oars are plied, and now we are once more on terra firma.

The crossing of large bays, cumbered with shallow bars
and banks of oyster-shells, is always to me extremely
disagreeable, and more especially when all these bars
and banks do not contain a single living specimen of
that most delectable shell-fish. Nay, I am assured
by our pilot, who is no youngster, that ever since he
first visited this extensive waste, not an oyster has
been procured in these parts. But now, in single file,
like culprits or hungry travellers, we proceed along
the margin of the canal. Ah, my dear friend, would that
you were here just now to see the Snipes innumerable,
the Blackbirds, the Gallinules, and the Curlews that
surround us;—that you could listen as I now do, to the
delightful notes of the Mocking-bird, pouring forth
his soul in melody as the glorious orb of day is fast
descending towards the western horizon;—that you could
watch the light gambols of the Night Hawk, or gaze on
the Great Herons which, after spreading their broad
wings, croak aloud as if doubtful regarding the purpose
of our visit to these shores! Ah! how well do I know you
would enjoy all this; but, alas! we are more than four
thousand miles apart.

Hark! what's that? Nothing but a parcel of men coming
to greet us. Here they are, seven or eight Negroes. Who
lives here my good fellows? Major Gordy, massa. Well,
now show us the way to the house. Yes, gentlemen, come
along. So we follow our swarthy guides.

The plantations here are of great value, both on
account of their proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, and
the excellence of the soil, which, as in other parts
of Louisiana, is composed of a fat, black mould. The
Indian corn was at least six feet high, and looked
most beautiful. As we approached the mansion of Major
Gordy, I observed that it has a pleasant aspect, and was
furnished with a fine garden, and a yard well stocked
with cattle, together with a good number of horses and
mules, just let loose from labour. A mill for grinding
corn and making sugar particularly drew our notice to
it, as the Crusader happened just then to be destitute
of both articles; and as I saw some women milking the
cows, my heart fairly leaped with joy, and the hope
that ere long we might procure a full bowl of the
delightful and salubrious beverage. The short twilight
of our southern latitudes had now almost involved every
object in that dim obscurity so congenial to most living
creatures after the toils of the day, as allowing them
to enjoy that placid quiet which is required to restore
their faded energies.

Near the entrance of the mansion stood an elderly man,
of tall stature and firm aspect, leaning on what I
would call a desperate long gun. As I approached this
Côte Blanche planter, I thought that something not so
very friendly as I could have wished was expressed in
his countenance. As he rested his heavy frame on his
monstrous rifle, he neither moved his head, nor held
out his hand to me, until I presented mine to him,
saying, "My good sir, how do you do?" His answer was
a rather suspicious look at me and my companions; but
notwithstanding, and probably because he was on his own
ground, he asked us what was our wish, and then desired
us to walk in.

Côte Blanche Bay, you must be informed, has for a number
of years been infested by a set of rascally piratical
vagabonds, who have committed extensive depredations, in
consequence of which, a few years ago, a United States'
revenue cutter was sent to protect the coast. I have no
doubt that the major took us, to a man, for members of
the gang who had more than once visited, not his house,
but his plantation, on which they had played many wanton
and atrocious freaks.

We now, however, had entered the house. Candles were
lighted, and we at once came face to face, as it were.
It curiously happened that our captain was without his
uniform, and fully as rough looking otherwise as any
of us. I was, however, much pleased to see that the
major himself was not much superior to us in respect
of apparel; nor had his razor been employed for many
days. I happened to have about me some unequivocal
credentials, from the head departments of the United
States, which, on my observing that some degree of
suspicion still remained, I placed in his hands. He
read them, spoke kindly to us, promised to forward our
letters to the nearest post-town, and invited us to
consider his dwelling as our own. From that moment until
we returned to our vessel, we were all as comfortable
and merry as men can be when distant from their own dear
homes.

Next morning we received from Major Gordy a barrel of
sugar, another of corn meal, some pails of milk, and a
quantity of newly made butter, together with potatoes
and other needful articles—and all this without being
allowed so much as to offer him the least recompense.
The day after, we returned to breakfast by invitation,
and found in the house several strangers armed with
rifles and double-barrelled guns. After we had been
introduced to all around, we seated ourselves, and
made a vigorous attack upon our host's eggs and bacon,
coffee, tea, and milk. As this important business
was proceeding, I was delighted to hear the following
anecdotes, which I hope you, my dear friend, will relish
as much as I did.

"Gentlemen," said our host, straightening himself up
in his chair, "I am considerably suspicious as regards
the strangers who happen to anchor within the range of
my dominions. Indeed, gentlemen, I must acknowledge
that even after you returned on board last night, I
sent off some of my men in various directions, to let
my neighbours know that a strange craft had anchored
near the landing-place; and here, gentlemen, are those
neighbours of mine; but as it happens that the name of
the gentleman who calls himself a 'Naturalist' is well
known to some of them, I now feel quite satisfied as
respects the purposes you have in view. But let me tell
you what happened to me some years ago.

"Such a shark-looking craft as the one you call the
Crusader happened to drop its anchor abreast of my
landing-place, about dusk one evening, and as I guessed
that the fellows on board were not better than they
should be, I watched their motions for a while from
my back piazza. But nothing happened that night. Next
morning, however, I heard the firing of guns down the
meadows where my cattle and hogs were in the habit of
feeding. So I took my rifle, walked towards the spot,
and soon found, sure enough, that the rascals had killed
a fine ox and several hogs, which they were dragging
to the shore. Indeed, gentlemen, I saw the yawl crammed
with the spoils of my plantation. Well, I took as good
an aim as I could at the nearest man, and cracked away,
but without hitting. At the report of my gun the fellows
all took to their heels, and getting on board hoisted
sail and went off. I have never heard of them since.
Well, gentlemen, about the same hour next morning, a
black-looking barge, hardly as large as your Crusader,
came to, off the very same spot, and although I watched
it and every one on board nearly the whole night, and
it was a beautiful moon-shining one, not a soul of them
came on shore until morning. Then, however, I saw some
bustle on board. Several men got off in a very small
affair, which was fastened astern of the large boat.
I saw them land, and deliberately walk towards the
meadows. No sooner had they reached the wettest part,
and that is where my hogs generally root for food,
than crack, crack, crack, went off their guns in all
directions. You may well suppose how vexed I was at
all this, and conceive how soon I mustered my men with
clubs, and armed myself with my rifle. On reaching the
ground, think, gentlemen, what were my thoughts, when I
saw the fellows all advancing towards me and my people,
as if they were the honestest men in the world. I was
so mad when they came close up, that I had a mind to
shoot the one in front, for he looked for all the world
as if he cared not a pin for any one. However, I did not
shoot, but asked him why he was shooting my hogs? 'Hogs!
good man, you are quite mistaken; we are shooting snipes
until we come in contact with the rascally pirates who
infest the coast, and lay waste your plantations. My
name, my good sir, is Captain ——, of the United States
Navy; and these are some of my men. Will you come on
board, and breakfast with us on your own snipes?'" No
wonder that the major, having been subject to the visits
of these marauders, should have taken us in the dusk,
armed as we were, and withal not having precisely the
aspect of sober citizens, for persons not quite as good
as we should be. But I must now conclude, and in my next
you shall hear something of the result of my expedition
into the marshes.

[Illustration: BUST OF AUDUBON BY WILLIAM COUPER IN THE
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK.

Published by courtesy of the American Museum of Natural
History.]

After wading through mud for whole days, exposed to scorching heat,
and constantly annoyed by myriads of insects in the course of their
numerous excursions on shore, they reached Galveston Bay on the 24th
of April. The fort of Galveston returned their salute of "26 fires,"
given by the big gun on the _Campbell_, and shortly after they received
a visit from the Secretary of the Navy of the Republic of Texas, which
under Sam Houston had declared its independence but a few weeks before
their arrival, and were invited to proceed to the seat of government,
at Houston, eighty miles distant, in the interior. They landed on
the 26th of April, and after three weeks had been spent in exploring
Galveston Island and its adjacent shores for birds and animals of all
sorts, they started for Houston on the 8th of May. After making about
twelve miles, their vessel grounded on Red Fish Bar, and the party then
took to tender and gig, reaching their destination on the 15th; wild
turkeys, ibises, and ducks of many kinds were seen in great numbers
along their course.

Audubon has left a graphic account[143] of what he then saw at the
capital of this short-lived infant Republic, including its picturesque
President, the _mêlée_ of dejected Mexican prisoners then gathered
there, and its drunken Indians, "halooing and stumbling about in
the mud in every direction." Houston's abode was a small log house,
"consisting of two rooms, with a passage through, after the Southern
fashion."

The moment we stepped over the threshold, on the
right hand of the passage, we found ourselves ushered
into what in other countries would be called the
ante-chamber; the ground floor, however, was muddy and
filthy; a large fire was burning; a small table, covered
with paper and writing materials, was in the centre;
camp-beds, trunks, and different materials were strewn
around the room. We were at once presented to several
members of the cabinet, some of whom bore the stamp
of intellectual ability, simple though bold, in their
general appearance....

The President was engaged in the opposite room on
national business, and we could not see him for some
time. Meanwhile we amused ourselves by walking to the
capitol, which was yet without a roof, and the floors,
benches and tables of both houses of Congress were as
well saturated with water as our clothes had been in the
morning. Being invited by one of the great men of the
place to enter a booth to take a drink of grog with him,
we did so; but I was rather surprised that he offered
his name, instead of the cash, to the bar-keeper.

We first caught sight of President Houston as he walked
from one of the grog-shops, where he had been to prevent
the sale of ardent spirits. He was on his way to his
house, and wore a large gray coarse hat, and the bulk
of his figure reminded me of the appearance of General
Hopkins of Virginia, for like him he is upwards of six
feet high, and strong in proportion. But I observed a
scowl in the expression of his eyes, that was forbidding
and disagreeable. We reached his abode before him, but
he soon came, and we were presented to his excellency.
He was dressed in a fancy velvet coat, and trowsers
trimmed with broad gold-lace; around his neck was tied a
cravat somewhat in the style of seventy-six. He received
us kindly, was desirous of retaining us for awhile, and
offered us every facility within his power. He at once
removed us from the anteroom to his private chamber,
which by the way was not much cleaner than the former.
We were severally introduced by him to the different
members of his cabinet and staff, and at once asked to
drink grog with him, which we did, wishing success to
his new republic. Our talk was short; but the impression
which was made on my mind at the time by himself,
his officers, and his place of abode, can never be
forgotten.

The party left Texas on the 18th of May, and on the 27th reached New
Orleans, which was then oppressively hot and nearly deserted. Here
Audubon's collections and equipment were packed to be sent north;
his dog was given to his brother-in-law, William Bakewell, and on the
last day of the month the party began to retrace their steps of the
previous March. After more hard traveling by car, coach and railroad,
Charleston was reached in eight and a half days, on June 10, 1837.
Edward Harris, who ascended the Mississippi from New Orleans for the
purpose of making further collections, later rejoined the party at
Bachman's home in Charleston. Audubon said that he lost twelve pounds
in weight during this journey, which proved exceedingly trying, and
the hardships encountered were hardly commensurate with the returns in
bird and animal lore; yet Audubon was by no means dissatisfied at the
results, as shown by the following account which he gave Thomas Brewer
two days after his return:[144]

The weather during the principal portion of our absence
was unusually cold, even for the season, and this gave
us, perhaps, the very best opportunities ever afforded
to any student of nature to observe the _inward_
migrations of myriads of the birds that visit us from
the south and west when the imperative laws of nature
force them from their winter retreats towards other
countries to multiply. To tell you all regarding this
would be more by a thousand times than can be given
in a letter written in haste, and I will therefore at
once touch the spring with whose sound you are most
in harmony. We procured many eggs for you—ay, a great
number—and as soon as we reach New York I will make up
a large box, and take it to you myself.... One thing
that will interest you most, as it did me, is that we
found west of the Mississippi many species of ducks
breeding as contented as if in latitude 68° north. There
is, after all, nothing like seeing things or countries
to enable one to judge of their peculiarities, and I
now feel satisfied that through the want of these means
many erroneous notions remain in scientific works that
can not otherwise be eradicated. We found not one new
species, but the mass of observations that we have
gathered connected with the ornithology of our country,
has, I think, never been surpassed. I feel myself now
tolerably competent to give an essay on the geographical
distribution of the feathered tribes of our dear
country, and I promise that I will do so, with naught
but facts and notes made on the very spot, and at the
fitting time.

Maria Rebecca Bachman, eldest of the nine Bachman children, was married
at this time to John Woodhouse Audubon, and the entire party started
north before the end of June. They went by steamer to Norfolk, and
thence to Washington, where Audubon presented his letters to President
Van Buren and tendered his thanks in person to the various officers of
the Government and friends who had aided his expedition; they passed
rapidly through Baltimore and Philadelphia, to New York, where Audubon
remained a fortnight, while his son and daughter-in-law were enjoying
a honeymoon at Niagara Falls. All sailed from New York on the packet
_England_, and landed at Liverpool on the 2d of August. Five days later
the family was united in London.

CHAPTER XXXII

AUDUBON'S GREATEST TRIUMPH

Extension of his work—Financial panic and revolt of
patrons—New western collections—His "Book of Nature"
completed—Work on the letterpress in Edinburgh—Vacation
in the Highlands—Commissions to Harris—Parting
address to the reader—Dissolution of the Havell
engraving establishment—The residuum of _The Birds of
America_—Robert Havell, engraver, and his family—Lizars'
first edition and the Havell reissues of plates—Brief
manual for collectors—Appreciations—Total edition of
_The Birds of America_—Past and present prices—The
Rothschild incident.

After Audubon's return to England in the summer of 1837, the completion
of his _magnum opus_ occupied but two years. Certain now of the
ultimate success which would crown his efforts, he worked with a
furious ardor, determined not only to execute his original plans, but
to extend them, if necessary, to include every bird which had been
discovered in America, or, at least, in the United States.

Audubon wrote Thomas Brewer in September that, for some unexplained
cause, a large part of his collections made in Texas had probably
been lost; when writing on October 29, the box containing all
the eggs collected on the Gulf of Mexico had not come to hand. He
continued:[145]

I authorize you to offer and to pay as much as _five
dollars_ for an old _raven_, in the flesh, and perfect
as far as _internals_ are concerned. European writers
who a few years since were all agog to prove that our
apparently analogous species were identical with those
of Europe have suddenly "faced about," and pronounce our
birds to be quite distinct species, and of course now
say that our raven is indeed our raven! and all this
because I proved that the _Corvus corone_ of Europe
existed not in America. All this induces the present
_natural_ student of nature to have his eyes and all his
senses fully open, and to see into things further than
we can into grindstones....

Charles Bonaparte, who has just this moment left me,
has kindly proffered me his new North American species,
and I hope to figure them all, thereby rendering my
work the more complete, if not quite perfect, as far as
truly well-known species are now thought to exist in the
limits of our country, or indeed those of North America.

When writing his young friend again, on November 18, he implored him to
proceed

with all possible industry, in procuring the birds of my
list, in rum. I hope you will have a pair of pied ducks
(_Fuligula labradora_) for me. Send me all the drawings
of eggs you can so that they reach me here by the 1st to
10th of March next. If the birds arrive in London by the
middle of April, it will do.... I send you inclosed the
copy of an advertisement of my work, which I wish you to
hand over to our most generous friend George Parkman,
Esq., M.D., and ask him to have it inserted in one or
more of the Boston newspapers as soon as convenient.

Again, on the 22nd, he admonished his friend not to send his "drawings
of eggs by _letter_," but to forward all such to N. Berthoud, "and ask
him to send them by captains of London packets. The postages are very
heavy these hard times, and I am not a _prince_."

Although Audubon's "Prospectus" called for only eighty parts of 400
plates, by 1837 the number of new discoveries had multiplied to such
an extent that he faced the dilemma of either enlarging his work or
issuing it in an incomplete state. In the summer of that year large
numbers of his British patrons discontinued their subscriptions, a
result, no doubt, of the disastrous panic which had driven many into
bankruptcy, and still more refused to take any plates in excess of
the stipulated number. To alleviate this anticipated difficulty, he
had already begun to admit composite plates, on which from two to six
different kinds of birds were grouped together, much in the older style
which he abhorred; but, in spite of this concession and omission of the
eggs, colored figures of which he had hoped to give at the end, he was
obliged to add seven parts, thus swelling the total number of large
plates to 435, which represented 489 supposedly distinct species of
American birds.

When Audubon was facing such protests in England, Dr. J. K.
Townsend[146] returned to Philadelphia with a second great collection
from the Far West. How eager he was, at this psychological moment, to
gain access to these ornithological treasures is clearly shown in the
following letter[147] to Edward Harris:

_Audubon to Edward Harris_

[Outside address] TO EDD HARRIS Esqr.
Moorestown New Jersey
9 miles from Philadelphia Pennsylvania
U. S. A.

Duplicate

LONDON, _Oct. 26th., 1837_.

I have this moment received your dear letter of the 4.
instant, for the contents of which, I do indeed most
truly thank you, but the most important point contained
in it, Dr. Spencer is now at Paris quite well and happy.
I have not heard of his supposed intentions to visit
Russia, at least not until you have shown yourself
in Europe for awhile. When will you come? I have not
received one single letter from Dr. Morton since my
return to England, and have been the more surprised at
this, because I look upon _him_ as a worthy good man and
as one whom, since my last visit to him, I cannot but
consider as my friend.

The return of Dr. Townsend to our happy land has filled
me with joy, and trebly so when you tell me that he is
as friendly disposed to me as I ever have been towards
him. I congratulate you my dear friend, in the step
which you have so kindly taken in my favour, by first
selecting all such Bird-skins as you or Townsend have
considered as new, and also in having given freedom
to Dr. Morton to pay Dr. Townsend Fifty Dollars
for the skins selected by you, under the _prudent_
considerations or restrictions talked of in your letter.
May I receive all the Bird skins very soon, for depend
upon it, now or never is for me the period to push on
my publication. If I have any regret to express it is,
that Townsend or Dr. Morton or yourself did not at once
forward to me the _whole_ of the Bird skins brought
latterly by Townsend, for I can assure you that it has
become a matter of the _greatest niceity_ to distinguish
the slight though _positive_ species lines of
demarkation between our species of Birds—and if on this
reaching you, the least doubt exists amongst yourselves
respecting any one, why send it to me at once by the
very earliest conveyance. If by New York, with letter to
N. Berthoud to lose not a day, provided a packet, either
to _Liverpool_ or London, is ready to sail! Had Townsend
sent me the _whole_ of his disposible birds, I might now
have perhaps been able to have mad[e] him a remittance
in cash, which the single arrival of the German
Naturalists, who are now in California may hereafter
put an end to. Mention this to him, nay, shew him this
letter if you please and assure him that I am willing to
exert myself in his behalf. Indeed, I wish you to urge
him in forwarding me either his own manuscripts or a
copy of all such parts as appertain to Birds, as soon as
possible, knowing (I think) that he will not undertake
to publish them himself under his present (I am sorry
to say) embarrassed pecuniary circumstances. Tell him
that I want all about the habits of _any_ Birds which
he has written upon, especially, however, those found
from the beginning of his journeys until his return,
and appertaining to species belonging to our fauna or
otherwise. Their exact measurements, dates, localities,
migratories or vice versa inclinations, descriptions
of nests, eggs &c. periods of breeding; in a word all
that he can, or will be pleased to send me—and you may
assure Townsend, that all he will confide to me will be
published as coming from _him_, although I may think
fit to alter the phraseology in some instances. Tell
him to be extremely careful in naming his new species,
and that [if] he thinks of difficulties in this matter,
to leave it to me, as _here_ I am able to see all the
late published works (and they are not a few) and work
out the species with more advantage than any one can
at present in Philadelphia. Do not take this as egotism
far from it, it is in friendship and for his sake that
I venture on undertaking such an arduous task. I am
_exceedingly_ [anxious] to receive a letter from him
(for Nuttall, though an excellent friend of mine and
a most worthy man, will not answer me in time on this
subject) of _all_ the birds contained in the _plates_
now at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philada.,
_which he saw on the Rocky Mountains_, over those
mountains, _on the Columbia River_ and off _the coast_
of our _Western boundaries_. This I want much, and
if he would simply dictate to you plate 1, not there,
plate 2, there, plate 3 there &c. &c. this would amply
answer my purpose, and this I wish you not to neglect
to forward me _as soon as possible by duplicate_! Of
course I cannot speak upon any one of the new species of
which you speak until I have examined them all. To talk
of new species in London is a matter not now understood
in any part of America, and sorry will you be as well
as himself, when I assure you that out of the _twelve_
supposed to be, and published by Dr. Morton, from
Townsend's first cargo, not more than six are actually
undescribed, although I have taken upon myself the risk
of publishing _his_ names to the Birds on my plate, but
which of course I am obliged to correct in my letter
press. _The little beautiful owl_, I would venture to
say has been described by Vigors at least ten years ago,
&c. &c. Swainson never goes to bed without describing
some new species, and Charles Bonaparte, during his late
visit to London, has published as many as 20 of a night
at the Museum of the Zoological Society Insects &c. &c.
Stir, work hard, [be] _prompt_ in every thing. My work
_must_ soon be finished, and unless _all is received
here_ by the month of May next, why I shall have to
abandon to others what I might myself have accomplished.
God bless you, many happy years. We are all well, thank
God, just now. Remember me and us kindly to all around
and every friend and believe me ever your most truly and
sincerely attached friend,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

TO EDWARD HARRIS, Esqre.

Addressed, care "Messrs. Rathbone, Brothers & Co.
Liverpool."

When you send to Liverpool.

If Townsend has brought Birds Eggs, ask him to send them
me. I will return all to him that he may want. I greatly
regret that you did not find me the _water_ Birds
of which you speak, as I might have perchance found
something new or curious among them. The Golden Eye Duck
especially, if any be had?

In reference to the new species of birds which had come into his hands,
Audubon said:

What was I to do? Why, to publish them, to be sure;
for this I should have done, to the best of my power,
even if every subscriber in Europe had refused to take
them. What! said I, shall the last volume of the "Birds
of America" be now closed, at a time when new species
are in my hands? No! And in spite of threats from this
quarter and that, that such and such persons would
discontinue their subscriptions (which indeed they have
done), and refuse to take the few numbers that would
have rendered their copies complete, my wish to do all
that was in my power has been accomplished.

Doubtless we should hesitate to blame many of Audubon's subscribers
for wishing to be relieved from an obligation which for a period of
ten years had cost them from $50 to $100 per annum, not to speak of
any who had met financial disaster in the panic of that day, but at
this juncture he really had no choice. When his eightieth Number,
originally intended to be the last, appeared in 1837, many important
kinds of birds, including ducks, swan, tern, and the Flamingo, as
well as grouse, warblers and woodpeckers, were still calling loud for
recognition. So generous of space had he been in the earlier phase of
his undertaking that twenty species were each shown on two distinct
plates, while in the end the need of compression compelled him to
introduce thirty-five composite plates.

Subscribers to _The Birds of America_ at the beginning had been
permitted to take a part or the whole, and many incomplete sets were
circulated, upwards of 120, as Audubon declared in 1839, having then
discontinued their subscriptions. Towards the end of his undertaking,
owing to the great expense and uncertainty involved, he was disinclined
to supply any but regular subscribers, as shown by the following
letter written from London, May 25, 1838, to William A. Colman of New
York:[148]

... We find that six of the plates you want are not
only largest figs, but some of them extremely full and
difficult to colour, and he [Mr. Havell] says that
our Printers and our Colourers would not undertake
to go throu them without charging a most extravagant
price. I have no extra plates whatever on hand, and
in consequence of this must be obliged to decline
furnishing you with them.

If at the conclusion of my publication I find any of
the plates you want they will be sent to you forthwith,
but I wish you not to calculate upon this until you hear
again from me, or from my sons on this subject.

My work will [be] entirely finished by the end of next
month, when our engraving and Printing establishment
will be broken up, and few will indeed there be copies
to be had by any one, who has not subscribed to the
"Birds of America."

Should you see any of my American subscribers who have
not as yet seen any portion of the work, please to
assure them that as soon as the fourth volume is quite
finished, and _bound_ according to their desires, their
copies will be forwarded at once to their respective
homes, or to whomsoever they have directed me to send
their copies.

On May 26 Audubon wrote Thomas M. Brewer that "Edward Harris, one
of the best men of this world," had reached his house "yesterday at
noon, after a pleasant passage of fourteen days and a few hours." "My
illustrations," he said, "will be finished on the 20th of next month,
and the fourth volume of text shortly afterward"; at the end he added:
"When I return to our beloved land, I intend to spend a full season
about the lakes in Northern Vermont, for, from what I hear, much
knowledge is to be acquired there and thereabouts." After returning to
New York in September of the following year, he again alluded to the
ramble he would like to take "along the borders of the famous lakes of
New Hampshire and Vermont," but was unable to bring it to pass at that
time.

To depart but slightly from the chronological sequence, the last to be
preserved of Audubon's letters to William Swainson,[149] written at a
time when his great work was drawing to a close, will be given at this
point:

_Audubon to William Swainson_

LONDON _11th Jan 1838_

MY DEAR MR SWAINSON,

The severe indisposition of my good wife which has
continued almost unabated now since I had the pleasure
of seeing you, is my excuse for not having ere this
answered your two notes, especially the last of the 8th
instant.—

Your box & contents came perfectly safe to hand, and
I think will soon again be in your possession in like
good order. I certainly should like to see the Buteo [?]
vulgaris to compare it with mine (that at the mouth of
the Columbia) and the one described by Nuttall before
the return from America of D. [Dr. John] Richardson
& of which it seems you were not aware.—I am glad
nevertheless that if differing from the European bird
of that name the Transatlantic bird will be honoured by
your own name.

Charles Bonaparte is at Paris & is to remain there. I
am well informed for about a fortnight.—He left London
in great haste and I assure you has left no parcels or
letters for you or anybody else either with us or with
Havell.—I am sorry that he should have disapointed you
& your dear Children but——.

I cannot say just now whether I have a specimen of
Muscicapa Trailli "the Prince" having two of my giving,
if however, I have another I will send it to you with
great good will & pleasure—As regards your queries
respecting several species of quiscalus or Crow black
birds You are correct for I have myself discovered two
in America one in the Floridas the other in the Arkansaw
River, both of which will be given in my work.—That more
exist I have no doubt especially further South and West.

You have described a swan in the Fauna Boriali Americana
under the name of the Cygnus Bewicki, but as your
measurements there and then given are very far from
those of the swan now known under the name of Old Bewick
I should feel obliged to you to let me know whether
the specimen you described from was the identical bird
procured by Captain Lyons, and of which that gentleman
described the nest? And again I should like you to tell
me whether you have seen the Clangula vulgaris of Linn.
that in the months of April & May?

Many thanks for all your kind wishes & may you and
yours enjoy the like return of many many new & happy
years.—Call upon us when you come to Town and believe me
my dear Mr Swainson ever sincerily

yours attached friend

JOHN J. AUDUBON

I have had the jawache for nearly one week & have not
been out of the house

4 WIMPOLE STREET

Audubon's day of greatest triumph came on June 20, 1838, when he
had the supreme satisfaction of seeing the last plate of his "Book
of Nature," _The Birds of America_, completed. Having been begun
virtually in the autumn of 1826, it was in press nearly twelve years.
The sumptuous character of this work, its commanding beauty, as well
as its surprising accuracy, considering all the obstacles of time and
circumstance, mark it, when combined with its letterpress, as one of
the most remarkable and interesting undertakings in the history of
literature and science in the nineteenth century. Unique as it was in
every detail of its workmanship, it will remain for centuries a shining
example of the triumph of human endeavor and of the spirit and will of
man. This is true in spite of any errors it may disclose, and even if
it be conceded that bare bones and plain photographs are more valuable
for elucidating the technicalities of science than the most artistic
productions of the pen, pencil or brush.

Audubon's labors in England, however, did not end with the completion
of his plates, for two volumes of his "Biographies" still remained to
be published. He was in London during the early summer of 1838, when
he recorded a visit from John Bachman, who had come to Europe for the
recuperation of his health. He was then obliged to hasten to Edinburgh,
where he was soon joined by both Bachman and Victor Audubon and later
by other members of his family. For the convenience of work he took
rooms near the museums, on the south side of the city, not far from
Lauriston Place and within easy reach of "The Meadows," a well known
recreation ground.

[Illustration: LIFE MASK OF AUDUBON MADE BY ROBERT HAVELL IN LONDON
BEFORE 1839, NOW IN POSSESSION OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOÖLOGY
OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

Published by courtesy of Dr. Samuel Henshaw, Director of the Museum
of Comparative Zoölogy.]

The following letter,[150] sent to his son John soon after his arrival
at the Scottish capital, and addressed "No. 4 Wimpole Street, London,"
abounds in interesting personal details, but the student of birds
would find more significant its clear statement of his relations
with MacGillivray; it shows us the anatomist at work, and Audubon as
his student and "secretary." "Under his kind tuition," he said, when
writing at a little later time, "I think I have learned something
of anatomy, which may enable me, at some future period, to produce
observations that may prove interesting...."

_Audubon to his Son, John_

EDINBURGH, _July 1st, 1838, Sunday_.

MY DEAREST FRIENDS

Your joint letter of the 27th Wednesday, did not
reach me until yesterday afternoon, probably because
the steamer which brought it did not leave London on
that evening on a/c of the coronation etc., Here the
festivals were poor beyond description, and although
scarcely anything was to be seen, the whole population
was on foot the entire day, and nearly the whole night,
gazing at each other like lost sheep.—No illuminations
except at two shops, Mr. Henderson's and another close
by him.—The fireworks at the castle consisted merely
of about one hundred rockets, not a gun was fired
from the batteries. MacGillivray & I went to see the
fireworks at 10 p.m., and soon returned disgusted.—His
museum (College of Surgeons) and the Edinburgh Museum
were thrown open _gratis_, and were thronged to excess
Upwards of 20000 in the first, and about 25000 in
the other; all was however quite orderly. The day was
showery; cloudy and dismal at times, but the evening was
clear and fine.—Mr. Hill's father died on the morning of
the 27th and I have not seen Alexander H., since. Many
thanks to Maria for her bunch of letters, and the few
lines of her own to me, I hope that everything will go
on well with you all.

We begin printing _tomorrow 2d of July, 1838!!_ remember
that Mesdames et Messieurs! and I intend to proceed
with all possible despatch and care. _All_ the birds in
rum will be inspected as far as internal or digestive
organs, trachea &c are concerned, and as I am constantly
present in the dissecting room, I think I shall know
something about the matter anon.—I am almost in hopes
to see Victor tomorrow night but cannot be sure. There
are somewhere at home the nests of the birds found on
the Columbia by Nuttall and Townsend, I believe that
of Bewick's Wren is among them; send them _all_, very
carefully packed. I want the journal of my first trip
to the Floridas, which was cut out of my large leather
journal, previous to going to Labrador, also a letter on
the habits of the Yellow-bellied Cuckoo, by a gentleman
at Charleston. If it cannot be found perhaps Maria will
recollect his name, being a friend of John Bachman,
if so send me that, _in full_ if possible. It is the
gentleman in whose garden I procured the small and large
cuckoos in the same nest.—

I have written fortyfour articles for my appendix and
will continue whenever I am not otherwise engaged, so
as to save time at last.—I am sorry for the death of
poor Wickliffe but glad that his brother was with him at
New York previously, and that we, at least, have done
all that we could for him. MacGillivray is quite well,
and works very hard, poor fellow—I am glad of John's
repainting the head by VanDyke, two copies of such
heads are valuable to him, besides his improving by so
working—When Victor has left for this place, John must
pay much attention to the colourers and call also at the
bookbinder. Havell ought to exert himself in having some
4th vols; delivered as soon as possible.

My last letter which was written last Sunday, was put
too late in the office, which closed on that day at
two o'clock, and did not therefore leave this till four
o'clock on Monday afternoon; this one will have a better
chance, for I will take it myself to the general office.
I have seen no one hardly since my last, I am indeed
as busily engaged as ever, and rarely go to bed before
eleven—being with Mr. MacGillivray until generally past
ten, describing etc., I rise at four or earlier, he at
ten; but I go to bed at eleven, he at two. I discovered
that he was adverse to the examination of the intestinal
canals etc., because many of my birds which are common
to both countries will be published before his 2d vol.,
can now possibly be; but as soon as I told him that I
had already said in my introduction, that the anatomical
structure was declared to be _his_, he was much pleased
and began on the instant.

Today is very dismal, and it will rain probably until
night; I wish we had here some of the warm weather of
which dearest Mamma speaks. I have had but one walk to
Arthur's Seat, but now and then I stroll to the meadows
which are close to me, and now look well.—From the
window of my sitting room I overlook the garden of Mr.
Frazer our printer, and now and then speak to him there,
I have not yet however visited him.—I will recollect the
Queen's farthing when next I see Professor Wilson, but
doubt much if he will recollect the least idea of it.
Has Charley written or said anything to Victor about the
review of the work; remember me to Healey.—

I suppose that the crown of England sits very quietly
down, and that all was very superfine. I have not so
much as seen a paper since I left you.

God bless you all, dearest friends, and take good care
of Mamma and Maria,

Ever your firmly attached father and friend

J. J. AUDUBON.

No. 7 Archibald Place,
Lauriston.

Audubon's fourth volume, the printing of which was announced in
this letter, was published in November, and at the conclusion of the
introduction he said:

I believe the time to be fast approaching when much of
the results obtained from the inspection of the exterior
alone will be laid aside; when museums filled with the
stuffed skins will be considered insufficient to afford
a knowledge of birds; and when the student will go forth
not only to observe the habits and haunts of animals,
but to procure specimens of them to be carefully
dissected.

These prophetic remarks, which were no doubt inspired by the studies
of MacGillivray, have found ample justification in the later history
of ornithology; to give a single illustration, it was through the aid
of anatomy only, in this instance, of the vocal organs, that modern
students have been able to define the true Passerine or Oscine birds,
as distinguished from all others, and as the highest representatives of
the avian class.

In the autumn of 1838, when Mrs. Audubon was still suffering from
impaired health, the naturalist paused in his work to indulge in a
short vacation, the first in many years. On September 14, he wrote to
Edward Harris, who was then in Scotland:[151]

_Audubon to Edward Harris_

EDINBURGH, _14 Sep'., 1838_.

MY DEAR FRIEND:

Not having heard anything from you in answer to my last,
I suppose that you may yet be away from Glasgow, but as
we ourselves are going off tomorrow to the "Highlands,"
with a view to be at Glasgow on Thursday next, I write
to you now, with the hope of meeting you _then_. Nothing
of importance has occurred here since my last, but _the
book_ has considerably swollen in its progress towards
completion.

We all unite in best wishes to you and I remain as ever
your most truly attached and sincere friend,

JOHN J. AUDUBON

We intend being home again on Saturday next.

[Addressed] To EDWARD HARRIS Esqr.
Comrie's Royal Hotel,
Glasgow.

With MacGillivray as guide, Audubon and his family visited Stirling,
Doun and Callander, where they "marched in a body to the Falls of
Bracklin, guided by a rosy-cheeked Highland lassie, stopping now and
then by the way to pick up a wild flower,—a blue-bell, a 'gowan,' or a
dog-rose, or to listen to the magpies and titmice." From Callander they
ascended to Loch Katrine, and explored the Trossachs, "admired by many,
chiefly or entirely on account of Scott's description of them"; at
the tavern there, said Audubon, "with that most curious innate desire
which there is in us of becoming older, for the purpose of enjoying
the morrow, I went to rest, anxious to see the morn, and discover what
existed beyond the crags that had bounded my view."

From the wild and beautiful scenes about Loch Katrine, which stirred
the naturalist's emotions and evoked the desire to remain until the
curtain of night had gradually and peacefully closed the landscape from
their view, they proceeded to the rocky shores of Loch Lomond, where
they found "a few small stone cabins, some fat bairns, abundance of
ale, and a sufficiency of capital whisky." After crossing to Tarbet
and examining both the head and the foot of the lake, they went on from
Balloch to Dumbarton by stage, and thence by steamer to Glasgow; there
they spent a few days, and returned to Edinburgh by way of Dumbarton
and Lanark. Steamers and coaches, slow as they then were, were all too
fast for Audubon on this journey, and he declared that if ever again he
visited the Highlands, it should be on foot, "for no man, with nerve
and will, and an admirer of the beauties of nature, can ever truly
enjoy the pleasures of travelling, unless he proceed in this manner."

Mrs. Audubon's health had not improved by the journey, for shortly
after their return she was again taken ill; she was placed in the
care of Dr. John Argyle Robertson, for whose efficient aid and "kind
and gentle treatment," said Audubon, "we can never cease to cherish
the most lively feelings of affection." "It is a curious part of
my history," he continues, "that during the whole of my sojourn in
Britain, none of the principal medical advisers whom we had occasion to
employ would receive any recompense from us."

By the 5th of November, 1838, but a few days after the issue of the
fourth volume of his "Biographies," the printing of the fifth and last
had already begun. The following letter[152] is interesting for its
personal details, and in showing that his confidence in the existence
of the "bird of Washington"[153] had not been shaken:

_Audubon to Edward Harris_

EDINBURGH _December 19th., 1838_.

MY DEAR FRIEND:

Your letter of the 13th. instant to Victor reached us
this morning, and glad were we all to hear from you.

My object in writing to you is, for the purpose of
assuring you that I feel great [pleasure] in preparing
a box of bird skins for you according to your desire. It
is true, however, that I am now on the eve of commencing
my synoptical arrangement of our birds, I shall not be
able to show you as many of my specimens [as] I could
otherwise have done, but you must take the will for the
deed. The Box will be taken as far as London by Victor,
who will leave us on the first of January. You will find
in it a list of the contents, and I trust such bird
skins as may answer your purpose well. Besides these
Victor will also attend to your request as soon as in
New York and will ship to you by way of Havre as you
direct.

I am glad that you should have seen what you conceive
to be the great rara avis F. Washingtonii. I am sorry
you could not have pocketed it, but who knows if it is
not left yet in store for you—and I to shoot a pair of
these noble birds at The West, and that, after having
satisfactorily examined its habits, its eggs, or its
young! _Bonaparte_, between you and I, is exceedingly
ignorant as regards our birds, as I found to my cost
when he was in London, and where he pumped me sadly too
much, but it is now over and I forgive him as I do all
others who have or who _may_ try to injure me.

John Bachman wrote to me that he had left in commission
to Trudeau, the purchase for me of a copy of Vieillot's
Oiseaux de l'Amérique Septentrionale, and also a copy
of Boié or Bojé work[154] on birds generally, but I have
received neither books or promises of them from Trudeau
as yet, perhaps you would undertake the task yourself,
and show to Havell as soon as possible, for I shall
be sadly in want of them in a few weeks more. I should
also like you to try to find Mr. Augustus Thorndike of
Boston, to whom Victor wrote a few days ago, with the
view to inquire from that Gentleman when he wished _his_
copy of the Birds of America to be delivered. Victor
addressed his letter to "his Hotel" or to the care
of the "American Embassy." We are not sure, however,
whether he is in Paris at present, and let me know what
discoveries you have made as regards this.—Victor will
remain ten days in London and wishes you, should you
write to him there, to put your letter _under cover_ to
_Havell_ and request him to _keep_ it. Victor will write
you from thence.

I cannot account why Trudeau has not written to me in
answer to my last, now full two months old? Should
you _perchance_ discover a specimen of the Bird of
Washington in Paris and purchase the same, I should like
you to send it to me _on loan_ to enable me to compare
it with mine, and the Immature of the _F. Albicilla of
Europe_!

I have got twelve sheets of the 5th. Vol. of Biographies
already printed, and I expect to have quite finished by
the 1st. of April next. I have decided on the _Trichas_
resembling _Sylvia Philadelphia_ of Wilson. It is
a distinct species, but what will probably surprise
you more, the _S. Agilis_ of the same author is also
perfectly distinct from either. All this you will
plainly see when you read their separate descriptions
and compare the three species.

I wish you would ask Trudeau whether _he_ recollects
the specimen of an Eagle send by Townsend in his first
collection, numbering 54 and which the latter has
lost, though he considered it as a new species. It was
procured in California. Townsend speaks sorrowfully of
the loss of this specimen. It never came under my eye,
did it come under yours? Ask Trudeau whether he ever saw
my Hirundo Serripennis in America. Bachman wrote to me
that Trudeau thought he had in the skins of Frederick
Ward. I think Trudeau will be pleased with the anatomy
of our birds, as it opens misteries hitherto unknown
in connection with the relative affinities of some
species toward others and assists in the formation of
groups &c., in what some day or other, will be called a
_Natural arrangement_!

I wish I could have spent a few weeks in Paris with you
and Trudeau, as I readily imagine that some new species
of North American birds, may yet be found there unknown
to the World of Science. I have written to Mr. Chevalier
and to Townsend, but will not, I dare say, hear anything
more of the former until through Victor, who intends to
see him very shortly after his arrival in America.

My Dear Wife is much better than when you saw her, and
I hope that when once again she has been safely landed
on our shores and enjoyed the warmth of our own Summers,
her health will be quite restored.

The _Little_ Lucy has grown as fat as butter, and the
rest of us are well.

We all unite in kindest best wishes to you and to
Trudeau, and I remain as ever, my Dear Friend,

Yours,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

6 Alva Street.

In May, 1839, Audubon's fifth and last volume of the _Ornithological
Biography_, consisting of 704 pages, was issued. It was followed almost
immediately by _A Synopsis of the Birds of North America_, in which
the efficient aid of MacGillivray was again enlisted. On May 4 Audubon
wrote to Havell that this work was in press and would be ready in about
a month's time; again, on the 30th of June he announced that it was
finished and in the hands of the binder. With this methodical catalogue
of the birds of North America then known and described, to the number
of 491, fifty-two of which were new, Audubon's life and labors in
England were brought to a close.

The introduction to the last volume of his "Biographies" begins as
follows:

How often, Good Reader, I have longed to see the day
on which my labours should be brought to an end! Many
times, when I had laid myself down in the deepest
recesses of the western forests, have I been suddenly
awakened by the apparition of dismal prospects that
have presented themselves to my mind. Now, sickness,
methought, had seized me with burning hand, and hurried
me away, in spite of all my fond wishes, from those
wild woods in which I had so long lingered, to increase
my knowledge of the objects which they offered to my
view. Poverty, too, at times walked hand in hand with
me, and on more than one occasion urged me to cast away
my pencils, destroy my drawings, abandon my journals,
change my ideas, and return to the world.

Later on he says: "You may well imagine how happy I am at this moment,
when ... I find my journeys all finished, my anxieties vanished, my
mission accomplished;" and he concludes: "I have pleasure in saying
that my enemies have been few, and my friends numerous. May the God
who granted me life, industry, and perseverance to accomplish my task,
forgive the former, and forever bless the latter!"

Audubon's introductions to the five volumes of his "Biographies," from
which we have frequently quoted, are characteristic; in them he cheers
his subscribers, calls all his helpers and correspondents by name,
and takes the public into his confidence by recording the acts which
marked the steady progress of his work. Frequent appeals to the "good"
and "gentle reader" have gone out of fashion, but in this instance
they seem in keeping with the style and character of the man, and they
were not made in vain. Audubon's belief in his mission was so plainly
sincere, his power so manifest and his enthusiasm so ardent, that there
were few who did not gladly acclaim the extraordinary success of the
man who twelve years before had landed in Liverpool poor and unknown.

In the winter and spring of 1839, while Audubon was engaged in
Edinburgh and Victor was in America, the settlement of his business
affairs in London was entrusted mainly to Robert Havell, his engraver.
At that time Havell was also pulling up roots, for he had caught the
spirit of his patron and had decided to emigrate with his family to
the United States; this involved disposing of his stock and breaking
up his engraving and printing establishment at 77 Oxford Street.
Havell had acquired distinction as well as a competence through his
long engagement with Audubon, and being then in his forty-sixth year,
he doubtless looked to America as a field for the fuller expression
of his artistic aspirations and talents. How anxious Audubon was at
this juncture regarding the disposition of the residual stock of his
plates, his drawings, and his books, then in Havell's hands, is seen by
the following letter,[155] written at Edinburgh, in the winter of this
year.

_Audubon to Robert Havell_

EDINBURGH, _Feb. 20th, Monday, 1839._

MY DEAR MR. HAVELL

I perceive by the date of your letter of the 16th
instant that you must have been some days beyond my
expectations, in the receiving of my parcel to you, and
that on that account my letter of Saturday last crossed
yours of the same date. I thank you for what you say as
regards the balance in my favor at Wright and Co.

Does Henry sail from _London Docks_ or from
_Portsmouth_? and pray what is the name of the Captain
of the "Wellington"? I do not precisely understand what
you mean by the _loose sets_ which you desire to know
how they should be packed? let me hear what they are and
how many of them by return of mail. The _five_ perfect
sets I think might all go into one case, tinned as
usual and insured of course to the full amount of their
value, as well as all others and to which I pray you to
attend as if for your own self. It is impossible for me
to go to London at present and indeed I cannot exactly
tell when I will, and I trust to you entirely for the
seeing that all the volumes are fair and good and passed
through _your own_ inspection of them before they are
packed. No volumes of Biographies must be put in the
same boxes.

When you have disposed of your business, what will
you do with what you have on hand belonging to us?
This requires an answer from you at once. You have a
great number of volumes of Biographies, Pictures, &c.
&c., a regular list of which you ought to send me. I
cannot yet say when the 5th vol. of Biographies will
be finished, but will let you know as soon as I can.
I received yesterday morning a letter from a gentleman
who has procured a copy of the work through Mr. Eame the
bookseller, he says that he has called upon you to say
that he is missing _one plate_ and begs to have a copy
of the plate struck and remitted to Mr. Eame who will
pay you whatever price the extra trouble on this account
may amount to, but he does not say what plate it is,
and I therefor suppose that you do? If so as he is the
brother-in-law of Mr. Walker of Ravensfield Park, one
of our _good_ subscribers I would say do it for him! My
wife begs of you to save all the loose prints which were
returned to you by our son Victor, as well as any others
whatever, perhaps among them you might find one to send
Mr. Eame's subscriber?

On the 4th of this month the 'Great Western' was nearly
half way across the Atlantic!! Sir William Jardine has
published a capital review of the work! What a strange
world we do learn in! Be sure to let me know about the
original drawings at Henry's, if he has finished them,
where they are &c. &c. We all remain as usual with kind
good wishes to you all,

Your friend

JOHN J. AUDUBON.
6 Alva St.

[Superscribed]
ROBERT HAVELL Esq.
Engraver.
77 Oxford st
London.

How fully Audubon's injunctions in regard to his residual stock, and
particularly to scattered plates of the _Birds_, were followed, is
not known, but it is certain that a part of this residuum remained in
England, where it is occasionally turned up even at the present day.
In a considerable number of the original plates which were found in
a bookshop in New Oxford Street in August, 1912, twelve were in the
uncolored state, and several had the appearance of rejects; moreover,
in a collection of these plates received from England in 1910, there
were nine copies of the same subject, the Painted Bunting (No. 11,
Plate 53). Though a complete set of the plain plates is known,[156] and
a considerable number were probably dispersed in America, they are very
rare.

Audubon wrote to Havell again on the 13th of March, when he complained
of the gross mistakes made by the "idle rascals" who were employed in
filling orders in his shop, and who had so sadly mixed matters that no
less than twelve numbers of his _Birds_ had come back to him, some of
them containing one, three, and five copies of the same plate, instead
of a "Number," and mixtures of the most incongruous sort; he thought
that "a clever young man as a clerk was worth a hundred thick heads,"
and begged Havell again to send him "a correct list of what he shipped
to America on his account, and that list not made by any other person
than either himself or Mrs. Havell." His next injunction, on May 4,
was to insure his copper-plates of _The Birds of America_ for £5,000,
and to send them to either Victor Audubon or Mr. N. Berthoud, Number
2 Hanover Street, New York. At that moment Audubon was planning to
return to America with his family by the _Great Western_ on July 6. In
writing again on June 30, he remarked that he was not at all certain
that Havell, who was then visiting at his native Reading, in Berkshire,
would really sail on the 25th of July, since he had already postponed
the journey so many times; he added that it would not even surprise him
if his work on the _Quadrupeds_ of America might not be out before they
could fish and shoot together in his "native land."

Havell eventually came to America with his wife and daughter on the
ship _Wellington_, in September, 1839; they landed at New York after
the 15th of that month, and for a time were the guests of the Audubons
at Number 86 White Street. His brother, Henry,[157] who visited the
United States in 1829, returned at about this time and established a
print shop in Broadway, New York, but according to Robert's biographer,
his enterprise was ruined by a fire, when he went back to England and
he died there about 1840. After a brief residence in Brooklyn, Robert
Havell settled at Sing Sing, now Ossining, at a beautiful spot on
the Hudson, overlooking the Palisades, which he named "Rocky Mount."
There he devoted himself with characteristic energy to painting and
sketching, but he also engraved and published a number of excellent
views of his favorite river, the Hudson, as well as of New York and
other American cities. In 1857 he established himself at Tarrytown,
where he built a house and studio, and where in his later years he
produced many meritorious works in oils. "He never tired," says his
biographer, "of the great, broad, sweeping Hudson, and propped up in
bed, that he might gaze at will on this mighty river," he died at the
age of eighty-five, November 11, 1878.[158]

Havell has been described as quite the opposite of Audubon in many
of his characteristics, calm, deliberate, not easily discouraged, and
fully his equal in industry, perseverance and determination. Audubon
sometimes complained of his friend's lax business habits, but their
long sustained and cordial relations were never broken during life,
and their mutual debt was great. The engraver's first son, who lived
but a year, was named Robert Audubon, and the naturalist, who was
his godfather, held the child at its baptism at old St. James Church,
Oxford Street, in 1827. A descendant of Luke Havell, who was a drawing
master at Reading, uncle of Robert the second, possesses a silver
loving-cup which Audubon presented to his engraver upon the completion
of the second volume of his illustrations; it is inscribed "To Robert
Havell, from his friend J. J. A. 1834."

When we consider the size of Audubon's plates, which required for
the portrayal of his largest subjects, such as the Whooping Crane or
Wild Turkey, an area of no less than five square feet, it will be
seen that his engraver was compelled to adopt the most expeditious
methods. This and kindred difficulties were overcome by Havell's
skillful union of aquatint with etching and line engraving, but some
of his smaller figures, as the Snow Birds (Plate 13), appear to have
been etched in the usual way, with but slight use of either aquatint,
dry-point or burin. In aquatinting the plate was usually bitten to the
desired depth for the softer shading of feathers or foliage, or for
the entire expression of sky, water or landscape. Says George Alfred
Williams:[159]

Aquatint proper consists entirely of gradations of tone
produced by biting with aquafortis into the copper
through a resinous ground broken into a multitude
of fine granules, that render the personal touch
practically negligible, and in consideration of this we
can appreciate the exceptionally skillful use Havell,
Junior, made of the difficult process. The graining of
the aquatint grounds is produced by allowing fine dust
particles to settle upon the freshly prepared plate. It
is to these grainings of different degrees of fineness
that the engraver must look for the subtlety of the
tonal surfaces, but strength is obtained usually through
the use of the etched line. The chief limitation of the
aquatint process lies in the great difficulty of getting
more than a few differences of shade, as the ground
goes to pieces rather rapidly under successive bitings,
and the transitions from one tone to another are very
few, so that half tones are not readily obtainable.
It is in the economical use of these half tones that
Havell, Junior, achieved so much and thereby produced a
chiaroscuro seldom, if ever, equaled in aquatint.

Artists have sometimes frowned upon this combination of aquatint with
other forms of engraving, especially when executed with the burin, for
"like the permanent misery of a quarrelling married couple, they may
ruin everything with discord"; but any such lack of harmony, when not
overcome by Havell's skill, was usually completely subdued by the color
which was subsequently applied to the printed sheet. This is seen by
a comparison of the plain proof of such an elaborate plate as that of
the rattlesnake attacking the mocking birds (Plate xxi) with the result
attained in the finished impression. In replying to a criticism of
Havell's work in 1830, Audubon expressed his conviction that "no birds
were ever so beautifully and softly represented on copper," and any
hardness, which his plates rarely showed, was not due to aquatinting,
the inherent quality of which is softness. To quote our authority
again:

In Havell's hands aquatint gave the essential structure
of forms by a judicious use of the process called
"feathering." This he often did upon the bare copper
plate without a ground, allowing the acid to bite its
own granular surface. In this way he produced the soft
gradations and telling accents so necessary to the
portrayal of birds, but by a further judicious use of
line the accurate forms of both bird and plant life were
given with great force and delicacy.

When Audubon first proposed to present the Congressional Library at
Washington with a copy of his _Birds_, he asked Havell to do all the
coloring himself; Havell

colored his prints in the usual manner by flowing washes
of pure water-color tints over the monochrome proof
which was printed from the copper plate. In this phase
of the process the great charm of his genuine talent
for water-color painting asserted itself. Aside from
the first crude washes, put on by artists or colorists
employed for the purpose, he himself applied the salient
tones and all the more delicate tints.

Much misunderstanding has arisen in regard to the engraving and
publication of Audubon's earlier plates owing to the complex relations
which existed between Lizars, the two Havells of the same name,
and the naturalist himself; this involved the reissue of the first
two numbers of the work, and a confusing series of legends upon the
plates themselves, occasioned partly by a division of labor between
father and son, and by the death of Robert Havell, Senior, in 1832.
The errors into which some commentators have fallen, however, are
due to their examination of but one set of plates. The account which
follows is based upon a collation of complete copies at the British
Museum, the Radcliffe Library, Oxford, the Jardin des Plantes, Paris,
and the Boston Society of Natural History, and of numerous scattered
plates. Lizars engraved the first ten plates only of the large folio,
but before the summer of 1827 a considerable number of these early
impressions had been distributed. The Havells, as we have seen, started
the work anew, and Robert, the younger, retouched the greater part of
Lizars' plates, so that their reissue in London constitutes for the
bibliophile a second, and in some cases a third, edition. Moreover,
the plates which were eventually executed by the younger Havell, to the
number of 425, were repeatedly printed from to meet the requirements of
new subscribers; on such occasions errors were corrected, minor changes
in the artist's or engraver's name introduced, and the nomenclature
of the birds and plants more or less completely revised. Frequently
the Whatman water-marks, or, indirectly, Audubon's titles, postdate
the year of publication as printed on the plate itself. Conflicting
legends, particularly on the earlier plates, which have often puzzled
collectors, are mainly due to one or another of the conditions named.
Nearly every plate underwent alterations of some sort, but the various
legends show conclusively whether the print belongs to a first or a
subsequent impression. In the British Museum copy, the younger Havell's
first independent legend appears on Plate lxxvi (Virginia Partridge),
as "Engraved, Printed, & Coloured by R. Havell Junr. 1830." The word
"London" was later added, but was eventually discarded. After the
senior Havell's death in 1832, the son naturally dropped the suffix
from his own name; thereafter his brief designation of name and date
became gradually stereotyped. It should be noticed, however, that when
Robert Havell needed to reprint from plates which were executed before
his father's death, he would frequently remove only the "Junior," and
let the original date stand, so that legends like the following are not
uncommon: "Engraved, Printed, & Coloured by R. Havell, —— London—1831";
to avoid the lacuna, designation of place and date were, at times,
erased also. The naturalist's name underwent a different evolution on
the plates, but after 1830, the date of his election to membership in
the Royal Society, his designation gradually settled into the phrase:
"Drawn from nature by J.J. Audubon, F.L.S. F.R.S." (as in Plate lxxxi,
1830); accordingly, all plates which bear these titles, but an earlier
date, are second or later editions. The previous hints, with examples
to be given presently, will enable collectors to determine whether a
given plate is a first or subsequent impression.

[Illustration: _PLATE CCCI_
_Canvas backed Duck_
FULIGULA VALLISNERIA,
Steph. _1 2 Male, 3 Female_
View of Baltimore

Drawn from nature by J.J. Audubon F.R.S. F.L.S.
Engraved Printed & Coloured by R. Havell. 1836]

Lizars' first edition of plates, Numbers i to x, bore no dates, and,
so far as known, the first date of the entire series was "1828,"
which was added to Plate 31 (the White-headed Eagle), but was erased
from later issues. When Robert Havell, Junior, retouched Lizar's
engraving of the Turkey Hen (No. II, Plate vi), he added the date
"1829," but in a third or later edition the name was changed and the
date removed. This same date appears also on the retouched Plate ii,
of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and on that of the Purple Grackle or Crow
Blackbird (Plate vii). A curious error crept into the first impressions
of the former plate, which was mislabeled "Black-billed Cuckoo," a bird
then recognized as quite distinct.[160] Plates xxxi to lxxv (1828-29)
were all dated in the first issue, and bore the names of both Havells;
the legends are: "Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R. Havell & Son,
London, 1828," and "Engraved by Robt. Havell, Junr. Printed & Coloured
by R. Havell Senr. London, 1828," or "1829" (British Museum copy),
but when later printed by Robert, the younger, the dates were erased.
All subsequent dating of the plates was somewhat irregular until 1834
(Plate ccii), but from that point to the end of the series, the year
of issue was consistently added to each plate. Ornithologists are
specially interested in the time of publication, since forty-seven new
specific names occur on Audubon's large plates, and should date from
them and not from the letterpress which followed.

To illustrate what has been said of successive editions of Audubon's
plates, we shall give the legends of two or three of the most famous,
taken from copies in the British Museum and Boston Society of Natural
History libraries or from detached plates obtained in London, in 1903:

Plate i (1st edit., Lizars; Brit. Mus.).—"Great American
Cock Male—Vulgo (Wild Turkey) Meleagris Gallopavo. Drawn
by J. J. Audubon, M. W. S. Engraved by W. H. Lizars
Edinr."

Plate i (2nd or later edit., Havell; Boston Soc. Nat.
Hist.).—"Wild Turkey. Meleagris Gallopavo. Linn. Male
American Cane. Miegia macrosperma. Drawn from nature by
J. J. Audubon F.R.S., F.L.S. Engraved by W. H. Lizars
Edinr. Retouched by R. Havell Junr."

Plate vi (1st edit., Lizars; Brit. Mus.).—"Great
American Hen & Young, Vulgo, Female Wild
Turkey—Meleagris Gallopavo. Drawn from Nature by John J.
Audubon F.R.S.E. M.W.S. Engraved by W. H. Lizars Edinr."

Plate vi (2nd or later edit., Havell; detached
plate).—The same with the exception of "F.L.S.," added
to Audubon's name, and "Retouched by R. Havell. Junr.
London, 1829."

Plate vi (3rd or later edit., Havell; Bost. Soc.
Nat. Hist.).—"Wild Turkey, Meleagris Gallopavo. Linn.
Female and Young." (Artist's name apparently cut off
by binder.) "Engraved by W. H. Lizars. Retouched by R.
Havell. Junr."

Plate 31. (1st edit., Havell. Brit. Mus.).—"White-headed
Eagle, male. Falco Leucocephalus. Fish Fulgo—Yellow mud
Cat. Drawn from Nature & Published by John J. Audubon,
F.R.S.E., F.L.S., M.W.S. Engraved, Printed & Coloured by
R. Havell & Son, London, 1828."

Plate xxxi (2nd or later edit., Havell; Bost. Soc. Nat.
Hist.).—"White-headed Eagle, Falco Leucocephalus. Linn.
Male. Yellow Cat-fish. Drawn from Nature and Published
by John J. Audubon. F.R.S. F.L.S. Engraved, Printed &
Coloured, by R. Havell."

Plates which were wholly the work of Lizars have naturally become
extremely rare; they were evidently disregarded by Audubon when he
recorded on July 2, 1827, that he had given Mr. Children a proof
of his first number, which he called "the first in existence," and
declared that the two guineas then received was the first money that
had been returned to his hands. Lizars' initial number had actually
been finished in the previous winter, and a copy of this is recorded
as having been given to the daughter of Sir Walter Scott on the 9th of
March, 1827.

When Audubon had finally closed all his business affairs in Edinburgh
and London, late in the summer of 1839, he returned to America, with
the remaining members of his family, and settled in New York, where
he purchased a house at Number 84 White Street, then in the uptown
district.

An anonymous writer in the London _Athenæum_[161] in giving a final
review of Audubon's labors in 1839, paid this interesting tribute:

It seems but as yesterday that we were walking about
with a transatlantic stranger, picturesque enough in his
appearance and garb, to arrest the eye of every passing
gazer; a tall stalwart man, with hair sufficiently long
to qualify him to serve as a model to Gray's "Bard," and
trousers ample almost as petticoats of "good Harmony
cloth," so absorbed in the enthusiastic prosecution
of his gigantic plan—a life's labour—as to be heedless
of the singularity of those meteoric locks, and those
liberal nether garments. Some dozen of years, however,
have elapsed since that day; the American Woodsman's
hair—long since cut short—has grown white; his
magnificent undertaking is completed, and he is now on
the point of quitting England, to settle himself for the
remainder of his days whether by the side of a bayou, in
some forest clearing, or as an inhabitant of one of the
American cities which have learned to know his value,
report saith not.

We shake hands with the author, tendering him our hearty
congratulations on the completion of a task almost as
arduous as has ever been proposed to a literary man....

The confidential simplicity of Mr. Audubon's own
prefaces would make yet more personal leave-takings
and farewells, on the critic's part, natural and
graceful,—but it must suffice to say, that few have
quitted England, carrying with them a larger portion of
honest regard and sincere good wishes.

Possibly it was the same writer who gave this striking picture of
Audubon in the pages of the same journal, thirty years later:[162]

We can remember when his portfolio excited delight
in Edinburgh, London, and Paris, rivalling in smaller
circles a new Waverley novel. The man also was not a
man to be seen and forgotten, or passed on the pavement
without glances of surprise and scrutiny. The tall
and somewhat stooping form, the clothes not made by a
West-end but by a Far West tailor, the steady, rapid,
springing step, the long hair, the aquiline features,
and the glowing angry eyes,—the expression of a handsome
man conscious of ceasing to be young, and an air and
manner which told you that whoever you might be he was
John Audubon, will never be forgotten by anyone who knew
or saw him.

We will add to this the musings of an anonymous American writer[163] in
the _North American Review_ for the following year (1840):

It must have been with mingled and varied feelings
that Audubon published his concluding volume. He was
sure then that he had raised an imperishable monument
to commemorate his own renown. All anxieties and fears
which overshadowed his work in its beginning had passed
away. The prophecies of kind but overprudent friends,
who did not understand his self-sustaining energy, had
proved untrue; the malicious hope of his enemies, for
even the gentle lover of nature has enemies,—had been
disappointed; he had secured a commanding place in the
respect and gratitude of men; he had secured a treasure
of rich and glowing recollections, to warm his own heart
in his declining years, and to kindle enthusiasm in his
children's children....

On the other hand he had lost an employment which
for years had kept all the powers of body and mind
in healthy though intense exertion; whatever else he
might do, the great work of his intellectual life was
finished.... His trumpet of victory at the result must
have given an uncertain sound, partly exulting in his
success, and partly lamenting that his great work was
finished.

It has often been asked, how many complete sets of Audubon's folio of
_The Birds of America_ were distributed, and how many are in existence
today. No definite answer can be given to either question. His final
lists, appended to the last volume of his "Biographies" in 1839, and
reproduced in Appendix III to the present work, gave the number of
standing names as 161 (calling for 166 copies), of which 79 (with 84
copies) pertained to Europe, and 82 were American; inasmuch as 118
subscribers had dropped off, with incompleted sets on their hands, this
brought the total number of original patrons at that time to 279, and
the number of copies which had been originally ordered to 284. On the
other hand, the following advertisement, evidently from the hand of
Audubon himself, appeared in _The Athenæum_, under date of "London,
November 1, 1837," and was reprinted in America a few weeks later:[164]

The number of perfect copies at present subscribed
for does not exceed 190, of which upwards of 80 are
subscribed for in America; and the expense of getting
them up is so great, that not more than ten or fifteen
copies, above the number subscribed for, will be
prepared.

The Establishment necessary for its publication will
be broken up when the last Number is coloured; and any
application for the Work must be made to the Author, 4,
Wimpole—street, London; or Mr. R. Havell, Engraver, 77
Oxford—street, before the first of May next, as after
that time no subscription can be received.

Assuming that Audubon's final published lists, calling for 166 copies,
were correct, and that ten additional sets were prepared, this would
bring the total original number known to have been complete to 176,
which agrees with an estimate attributed to Victor Audubon, who once
expressed the belief that "about 175 copies" were in existence, of
which about 80 were in America.[165] It is probable, however, that of
the 118 persons who allowed their subscriptions to lapse, a number
completed their sets from the residual stock, which must have been
great, though the later plates would be the hardest to obtain; in this
event the number of perfect sets of Audubon's _Birds_ probably never
exceeded 190 or 200.

The proprietor of a well known Philadelphia bookshop[166] has stated
that during his experience as an antiquary, he has had personal
knowledge of forty or fifty copies of the folio edition of Audubon's
_Birds_ in America, and he thought it probable that a single New
England print dealer, in the course of twenty years, had broken up
thirty or forty volumes for the purpose of selling the plates. This
is not surprising, since from the sale of a single volume upwards of
$1,500 might be realized in this way, but no reputable dealer would now
think of breaking up an unimpaired set.

Mr. Ruthven Deane, who has compiled a careful record of copies of _The
Birds of America_ known to exist in the United States, recorded in
1908 that he had ascertained the resting-place of seventy-five sets
which, with few exceptions, were complete and in good condition. "A set
in the library of the Mechanics-Mercantile Institute, San Francisco,
California, which had been there for some thirty years, and another
set in the San Francisco Art Association, presented in 1894 by Mr.
Edward F. Searles, Methuen, Massachusetts, were both destroyed by
the disastrous earthquake and fire which visited that city April 18,
1906."[167]

Audubon's own copy of his _Birds_, the plates of which were naturally
selected with the greatest care, was sold by Mrs. Audubon after the
death of her last surviving son, in 1862, to John T. Johnson, of New
York, for $1,200; the subsequent history of these volumes has not been
traced. Havell brought with him to America a copy, every plate of which
is said to have been selected by himself, and it is undoubtedly one of
the finest sets in existence. It passed from the family's possession
to the hands of the publishers and booksellers, Messrs. C. S. Francis
& Company, of 554 Broadway, New York, who in 1856 had charge of the
sale of all of Audubon's works,[168] and was later purchased by Dr. W.
Gurdon Russell, of Hartford, Connecticut, who presented it to Trinity
College, July 10, 1900.[169]

After recording the facts of the case, so far as they have been
ascertained, the following extract from the minutes of a meeting of the
New York Historical Society, held October 3, 1865, will be read with
interest:[170]

The Librarian presented the following copy of a
manuscript memorandum preserved in the first volume of
Audubon's Ornithological Biography, formerly belonging
to the late J. Prescott Hall,[171] and now in possession
of David G. Francis, Esq.:

"This work is presented to J. Prescott Hall by his poor
Friend and sincerely attached servant

JOHN J. AUDUBON"

"New York April 4, 1844."

"Mr Audubon told me in the year 184— that he did not
sell more than 40 copies of his great work in England,
Ireland, Scotland, and France, of which Louis Phillippe
took 10.

"The following received their copies but never paid
for them: George IV., Dutchess of Clarence, Marquis of
Londonderry, Princess of Hesse Homburg.

"An Irish lord whose name he would not give, took two
copies and paid for neither. Rothschild paid for his
copy, but with great reluctance.

"He further said that he sold 75 copies in America, 26
in New York and 24 in Boston; that the work cost him
£27,000 and that he lost $25,000 by it.

"He said that Louis Phillippe offered to subscribe for
100 copies if he would publish the work in Paris. This
he found could not be done, as it would have required
40 years to finish it as things were then in Paris. Of
this conversation I made a memorandum at the time which
I read over to Mr. Audubon and he pronounced it correct.

"J. PRESCOTT HALL."

As regards the subscription of Rothschild the following account of
his interview with the famous banker has been recorded by Audubon
himself.[172] The naturalist, it appears, received a letter to Baron
Rothschild from the American banking-house of Prime, Ward & King,
and presented it in the summer of 1834. The banker was not in when
Audubon and his son, Victor, called upon him, but "soon a corpulent man
appeared, hitching up his trousers, and a face red with the exertion
of walking, and without noticing any one present, dropped his fat
body into a comfortable chair, as if caring for no one else in this
wide world but himself." When Audubon presented his credentials, the
banker asked: "Is this a letter of business, or is it a mere letter of
introduction?'" As Audubon had not read the letter, he was obliged to
answer rather awkwardly that he could not tell. "The banker then opened
the letter, read it with the manner of one who was looking only at
the temporal side of things, and after reading it said, 'This is only
a letter of introduction, and I expect from its contents that you are
the publisher of some book or other and need my subscription.'" Audubon
continues:

Had a man the size of a mountain spoken to me in that
arrogant style in America I should have indignantly
resented it; but where I then was it seemed best to
swallow and digest it as well as I could. So in reply
... I said I should be _honored_ by his subscription to
the "Birds of America." "Sir," he said, "I never sign
my name to any subscription list, but you may send in
your work and I will pay for a copy of it. Gentlemen,
I am busy, I wish you good morning." We were busy men,
too, and so bowing respectfully, we retired, pretty well
satisfied with the small slice of his opulence which our
labor was likely to obtain.

A few days afterwards I sent the first volume of my
work half bound, and all the numbers besides, then
published. On seeing them we were told that he ordered
the bearer to take them to his house, which was done
directly. Number after number was sent and delivered
to the Baron, and after eight or ten months my son made
out his account and sent it by Mr. Havell, my engraver,
to his banking-house. The Baron looked at it with
amazement, and cried out, "What, a hundred pounds for
birds! Why, sir, I will give you five pounds, and not a
farthing more!" Representations were made to him of the
magnificence and expense of the work, and how pleased
his Baroness and wealthy children would be to have
a copy; but the great financier was unrelenting. The
copy of the work was actually sent back to Mr. Havell's
shop, and as I found that instituting legal proceedings
against him would cost more than it would come to, I
kept the work, and afterwards sold it to a man with
less money but a nobler heart. What a distance there is
between two such men as Baron Rothschild of London and
the merchant of Savannah!

CHAPTER XXXIII

NEW ENTERPRISES AND LIFE AT "MINNIE'S LAND"

Settlement in New York—The _Birds_ in miniature,
and work on the _Quadrupeds_—Marriage of Victor
Audubon—Coöperation of Bachman in the _Quadrupeds_
secured—Prospectuses—History of the octavo edition
of the _Birds_—Baird's enthusiasm and efficient
aid—Parkman's wren—Baird's visit to Audubon in New
York—"Look out for Martens!" and wildcats—New home on
the Hudson—Godwin's pilgrimage to "Minnie's Land" in
1842.

After thirteen years of unmitigated labor, Audubon could have basked
in a fame already secure, and could have enjoyed, for a time at least,
a leisure handsomely earned. But no sooner had he settled in New
York than he entered upon two formidable tasks: one of these was the
complete revision of his _Birds of America_, to be issued with its text
in "miniature," as its reduced form was sometimes described; the other,
which he did not live to see brought to completion, was an elaborate
work on the _Quadrupeds of North America_, eventually carried forward
in collaboration with the Reverend John Bachman.

In his confident and characteristic manner, Audubon at once issued a
"Prospectus" of both these undertakings. The more cautious Bachman,
in writing on September 13, 1839, to congratulate him upon their safe
return, "in spite of storms, calms, and hurricane," said:

I am glad that you are about to do something with regard
to the "_Small Edition of Birds_." But are you not
too fast in issuing your prospectus of _The Birds and
Quadrupeds_, without having numbers of both works, by
which the public can judge of their merits? My idea,
in regard to the latter, is that you should carefully
get up, in your best style, a volume about the size of
"Holbrook's Reptiles." This would enable you to decide
on the terms of the book, I think that two thousand
subscribers at $1.00 for each number, might be obtained.
But it must be no half-way affair.

The animals have never been carefully described, and
you will find difficulties at every step. Books cannot
aid you much. Long journeys will have to be undertaken.
Several species remain to be added and their habits
ascertained. The drawings you can easily make, if you
can procure the specimens. I wish I had you here, if
only for two days. I think that I have studied the
subject more than you have. You will be bothered with
the Wolves and the Foxes, to begin with. I have two new
species of Bats and Shrews to add. The Western Deer are
no joke, and the ever varying Squirrels seem sent by
Satan himself, to puzzle the Naturalists.

It is evident from this letter that Audubon was then intending to
proceed with the work on the _Quadrupeds_ alone and that Bachman's
active coöperation was secured later. On September 15, shortly after
his return to America, he wrote to Thomas M. Brewer on this subject as
follows:[173]

Now that I am about to commence the publication of
the _Quadrupeds of North America_, I will expect your
assistance in the procuring for me of all such subjects
as may easily be obtained around you. John Bachman
is about to give the whole of his collections and his
notes to me; and as I intend to open a pretty general
correspondence in different parts of the Union, I
trust to be enabled to proceed roundly on this fresh
undertaking.

Victor Gifford Audubon, who had preceded his father to America early in
1839, was married in that year to Mary Eliza, second daughter of John
and Harriet Bachman. This double union of the two naturalists' families
called forth mutual congratulations, but Bachman, who was inconsolable
at the departure of his children, preferred to talk of birds: "By that
time," said he, "four or five numbers [of the 'Small Edition of the
Birds'] are published, you may turn over the work to your sons; but,
till then, you should carefully review every page and plate. The next
thing will be to get subscribers. This would be purgatory to me; but
it is necessary to success. While drumming up subscribers, you may
obtain specimens for the Quadrupeds." When writing again January 13,
1840, Bachman, whose cooperation in the proposed work had been sought,
continued:

The descriptions in the "Small Edition of Birds" will
have to be abridged—your "_worthy friend_" and other
humbugs may be left out to advantage. I am not at all
surprised at your success at getting subscribers; but
let me say, _cities_ are not the only places to obtain
them. Birds sing and nestle among the groves of the
_country_—The planters and farmers are the men to become
subscribers. An intelligent planter from the up country
said, a few days ago, that if the right person would
thoroughly canvass the whole State of South Carolina,
he would insure three hundred subscribers to the "Small
Work." _Old Jostle_ would be the man, and when his legs
failed, the _Young Jostle_ should go forward. Get the
Editors to notice your work—this is a puffing world—from
the porpoise to the steamboat.

When we meet, we shall talk about the partnership in
the quadrupeds. I am willing to have my name stand
with yours, if it will help the sale of the book. The
expenses and the profits shall be yours or the boys'.
I am anxious to do something for the benefit of Victor
and John, in addition to the _treasures_ I have given
them—and this is all I can do.... Employ yourself now
in drawing every quadruped you can lay your hands upon.
If you can find me a live Ermine, buy it in New York. I
must once more examine and study its change of _pilage_.

Don't flatter yourself that the quadrupeds will be
child's play. I have studied them all my life. We have
much, both in Europe and America, to learn on this
subject. The skulls and the teeth must be studied, and
color is as variable as the wind; down, down in the
earth they grovel, while we, in digging and studying,
may grow old and cross. Our work must be thorough. I
would as soon stick my name to a _forged Bank Note_ as
to a mess of _soupmaigre_.

[Illustration: VICTOR GIFFORD AUDUBON

Published by courtesy of Charles Scribner's Sons.]

[Illustration: JOHN WOODHOUSE AUDUBON

Published by courtesy Of Dr. R. W. Shufeldt.]

The "Prospectus" of Audubon's "miniature" edition of the Birds was as
follows:[174]

To those who have not seen any portion of Mr. Audubon's
Original Drawings, it may be proper to state, that their
superiority consists in the accuracy as to proportion
and outline, and the variety and truth of the attitudes
and positions of the figures, resulting from peculiar
means discovered and employed by him, and his attentive
examination of the objects portrayed, during a long
series of years. Mr. Audubon has not contented himself
with single profile views, but in many instances has
grouped his figures, so as to represent the originals
in their natural avocations, and has placed them on
branches of trees decorated with foliage, blossoms and
fruits, or amidst plants of numerous species—some are
seen pursuing their prey in the air, searching for food
amongst the leaves and herbage, sitting on their nests,
or feeding their young; whilst others, of a different
nature, swim, wade, or glide in or over their allotted
element. The insects, reptiles and fishes that form
the food of some of the birds, have now and then been
introduced in the drawings. In nearly every instance
where a difference of plumage exists between the
sexes, both male and female have been represented, and
the extraordinary changes which some species undergo
in their progress from youth to maturity, have been
depicted.

The plants are all copied from nature, and as many are
remarkable for their beauty, their usefulness, or their
rarity, the Botanist cannot fail to look upon them with
delight.

The particulars of the plan of the work can be reduced
to the following heads:

1. The size of the work is royal octavo, the paper being
of the finest quality.

2. The Plates representing the Birds are correctly
reduced from the original drawings, and are coloured in
the most careful manner.

3. The work will appear in numbers, on the first and
fifteenth of every month.

4. Each number will consist of Five Plates, accompanied
with full descriptions of the habits and localities of
the birds, their anatomy and digestive organs, (with
occasionally wood cuts representing the latter,) and
will be furnished to subscribers for one dollar, payable
on delivery.

5. The work will be published in accordance with a
scientific arrangement of the genera and species, and
will complete the Ornithology of our country, it is
believed, in the most perfect manner.

[Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF PAPER COVERS IN WHICH PARTS
OF THE FIRST AMERICAN (OCTAVO) EDITION OF "THE BIRDS OF AMERICA"
WERE ORIGINALLY ISSUED.]

The octavo edition of Audubon's _Birds_ began to appear, in parts,
late in 1839, and was in press four years. It was illustrated with 500
lithographic plates, which were reduced by John Woodhouse Audubon from
his father's old or new originals, with such changes as the breaking
up of composite plates and other considerations rendered necessary.
Many new flowers and trees made their appearance in these plates, and
seventeen new birds were added to the last volume; the text was also
greatly improved by the process of addition and subtraction, as well
as by the correction of many errors which it was then possible to
effect: as twelve species were noticed without figures, this brought
the total number of American birds finally recognized by Audubon
to 507.[175] The first considerable list of American birds with any
pretense to accuracy appeared in _Notes on Virginia_, published in
1782, by Thomas Jefferson, who then named 109 species peculiar to
the United States; William Bartram, in 1791, gave 191; Alexander
Wilson, 278; Wilson and Ord, in 1808-14, 320, and Charles Bonaparte,
in 1825-33, is said to have extended the number to 382. The present
number of North American birds, omitting sub-species, admitted to the
third revised edition of the "Check-List," prepared by a Committee of
the American Ornithologists' Union and published in New York in 1910,
is 768. To this is added a hypothetical list of 26 names, the validity
of which is still in doubt; these embrace Townsend's Bunting—_Spiza
townsendi_ (Audubon); Carbonated Warbler—_Dendroica carbonata_
(Audubon), Blue Mountain Warbler—_Dendroica montana_ (Wilson), known
only in the works of Wilson and Audubon; the mysterious Small-headed
"Flycatcher," or Warbler—_Musicapa minuta_ (Wilson) or _Wilsonia_ (?)
_microcephala_ (Ridgway), an account of which is given in Chapter XIV
and which is known only in Wilson's and Audubon's works; and Cuvier's
Regulus—_Regulus cuvieri_ (Audubon), which has never been seen beyond
the covers of _The Birds of America_, and its descriptive text: "I
shot _this_ bird," said Audubon, "on my father-in-law's plantation of
Fatland Ford, on the Skuylkill River in Pennsylvania, on the 8th June
1812, while on a visit to my honoured relative Mr. William Bakewell....
I have not seen another since."

Audubon was soon canvassing the principal cities for this work, with
what success is shown by the following letter[176] to his family:

_Audubon to his Family_

BALTIMORE, _Feb. 21. 1840_.
11 o'clock at night.

MY DEAR FRIENDS

So far so good, but alas! I am now out of numbers to
deliver to my subscribers here. Here! where I expected
to procure a good number more. This list is composed
of excellent men and all good pay. I have in my pocket
upwards of one hundred names, whom I am assured are
likely to subscribe. Therefor I will not leave Baltimore
for some days to come at least. I forward a copy of this
list to Chevalier by the same mail and yet you may as
well inquire if he has received it. More numbers I must
have as soon as possible as all my subscribers here are
anxious about receiving their copies, unfortunately I
had only 90 No. 2. I look upon this list as a capital
list. I have sent Mr. Ridgley of Annapolis a No. 1 and a
prospectus, and expect some names tomorrow evening from
that quarter.

I will remit money to Phila. and let you know how much
as soon as I can. The box has arrived here safely and
tomorrow or Monday I will deliver Biographies &c. D.
Potter is very ill and poor and yet I hope to get his
note before I leave here.

I received a note from dear Jonny dated at Norfolk, all
well and going on. I expect they are at this moment at
John Bachman's. I am fatigued beyond description and had
the misfortune last evening of skinning my shin bones,
they bled profusely however, and I hope will soon get
well, though feel rather sore at this very moment, but
I will take care of them.

The amount of attention which I have received here is
quite bewildering, the very streets resound with my
name, and I feel quite alarmed and queer as I trudge
along. Mess. _Meckle_, _Oldfield_ and the Brune family
have all assisted me in the most kind and brotherly
manner, indeed I may say that my success is mostly
derived from these excellent persons.

I have written to Mr. Mifflins. I feel that Theodore
Anderson will not live long. Mr. Morris has not yet
returned from Annapolis. See that the _notice_ in the
Baltimore Patriot which I sent you yesterday is inserted
in the _Albion_, the _New York Gazette_ and if possible
in the _Courrier_ and _Enquirer_.

I have sent one to Chevalier and another to Dr. Parkman.
I ought to have at this moment 300 copies Nos. 1, 2,
3, 4, for Washington City and really I think it would
be better to stop the publication of the work for _one
month_ to effect this. Therefor loose no time in urging
Mr. Bowen (write to him) and Chevalier also on this all
important subject.

If ever I was in want of assistance it is at this
moment and _you_ my dear Victor must be on the alert and
second my endeavors to render you all Happy! I would be
delighted to have a few lines from Mamma and Eliza at
the end of your next letter, which I hope to receive in
immediate answer to this, _Here_. I have marked all your
items in your last letter. Call from time to time at
the Mercantile Library. I am glad you have remitted to
the Rathbone's. Do write to Mr. Hoppenstall and see the
daughter of Capt. Brittan. I was invited last evening to
a great ball, and should have gone had not my accident
of shin bones prevented me. I am told that I would have
had some 20 names there.

Recollect that our agents name is Gideon B. Smith and
a most worthy man he is, highly recommended by Robert
Gilmor and others.

[No signature]

To the gratification of Audubon and his friends, the octavo edition
of his _Birds of America_ was an immediate and great success. Only 300
copies of the plates of the first number, which was ready on December
3, 1839, were printed, but in little more than a month 300 more were
demanded, and the number of plates required rose steadily until January
9, 1841, when it stood at 1,475 copies.[177] The total number of
subscribers given in Audubon's published lists was 1,198, of which 198
are credited to Boston, 164 to Baltimore, 141 to New York, sixty-five
to Philadelphia, and forty-three to foreign countries, ten of which
went to England; Mr. George Oates of Charleston subscribed for seven
copies. Such a reception for an expensive work on natural history was
unprecedented in the United States, and has had few parallels in any
country.

At the very beginning of this new undertaking, the hand of disease and
bereavement rested heavily on the Audubon and Bachman families; they
were obliged to see first one and then another of their daughters swept
by the same terrible malady, tuberculosis, to an early grave. Mrs. John
Woodhouse Audubon died at her old home in Charleston, whither she had
gone for the benefit of her health in the previous winter, on September
23, 1840, at the age of twenty-three; and Mrs. Victor Audubon, after
a long sojourn in Cuba, and shortly after returning to her home in New
York, died there on May 25, 1841, at the age of twenty-two. Audubon was
very fond of his daughters-in-law, and his "beloved Rosy," as Victor's
wife was familiarly called, is said to have been a particular favorite
and the life of his family circle. If work at this time brought no
pleasure, it at least afforded him relief from painful thoughts.

In June, 1840, a boy who lived in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, mustered
up courage to write to the naturalist and give him an account of a
new bird, the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, which he and his brother had
discovered, under the very noses, as it were, of all the ornithologists
in America. With that fine sense of modesty which characterized the man
in after life, for his name was Spencer Fullerton Baird, he wrote:[178]
"You see Sir that I have taken (after much hesitation) the liberty of
writing you. I am but a boy, and very inexperienced, as you no doubt
will observe from my description of the Flycatcher."

Audubon, who had just returned from the sick-bed of his
daughter-in-law, replied promptly as follows:

_Audubon to Spencer Fullerton Baird_

NEW YORK, _June 13, 1840_.

DEAR SIR,

On my return home from Charleston S. C. yesterday, I
found your kind favor of the 4th inst. in which you
have the goodness to inform me that you have discovered
a new species of fly-catcher, and which, if the bird
corresponds to your description, is, indeed, likely
to prove itself hitherto undescribed, for although you
speak of yourself as being a youth, your style and the
descriptions you have sent me prove that an old head may
from time to time be found on young shoulders!

I wish you would send me one of the stuffed specimens as
well as the one preserved in spirits, and wish you also
to rest assured that if the little _Muscicapa_ stands as
a nondescript that I shall feel pleased to name it after
your friend.

I have never seen a male of the Cape May warbler with
the upper part of the head pure black. Have you compared
the _Regulus_ with the description of _Regulus Cuvieri_?
Could you not send me your bird to look at? Being on the
eve of publishing the Quadrupeds of our Country, I have
thought that you might have it in your power to procure
several of the smaller species for me, and thereby
assist me considerably. Please write to me again soon,
as I must resume my travels in 8 or 10 days. Have you
seen a copy of the small edition of The Birds of America
which I am now publishing? Believe me, dear sir,

With good wishes, your obt. sert.,

JOHN J. AUDUBON

Thus began a correspondence between the youth of fifteen and the
veteran of fifty-five, which led to an intimate friendship that lasted
during Audubon's active career, and was an undoubted stimulus to young
Baird, whose talents, enthusiasm and industry were quickly appreciated
by the older naturalist. Baird answered Audubon's letter on June 20,
and proffered his services in collecting mammals, saying that while
they were more difficult to find than birds, he hoped "by increased
exertion to make up the difference"; he also added: "I have seen some
numbers of your work now publishing, and admire them very much. I have
no doubt that it will do more to spread a love of Natural history,
than any work ever published. For my part I read the description of
birds and the episodes in your _Ornithological Biography_ with the same
motive of pleasure as I used to read a favorite novel." In Audubon's
immediate reply of the 22nd, he said:

It is impossible at present for me to give you any
precise idea of the work on our quadrupeds which I have
in contemplation to publish, any further than to say
to you, that it is my intention, as well as that of my
friend, the Revd John Bachman, of Charleston, S. C.,
assisted by several others of our best naturalists,
to issue a work on the Mammalia of North America
worthy of the naturalist's attention, both at home
and abroad.—Through our joint efforts, and assisted
as we hope and trust to be, by numerous friends and
acquaintances in different portions of our Wide Union,
we expect to collect, not only new species, but much of
valuable matter connected with their geographical range,
and particular habits. For instance, in your assistance
in this department as well as in ornithology, you may
be able to send us valuable intelligence respecting
the Shrews, Mice, Rats, Squirrels, etc., found in your
immediate vicinity &c.—and by saving and forwarding
specimens to us, be able also, in all probability, to
place into our hands, objects never before known to the
World of Science. Whatever information we thus receive
is sacredly published under the name of the friend
from whom we receive the information, etc. I have sent
you the Zoological report of Docr. De Kay. His _Corvus
cocolotle_ [cacolotl] is really our Raven. _Supposed_ by
some inexperienced European naturalists to be distinct
from the Raven of Europe, which, however, is a gross
error.[179]...

The thrush which you have described, and which you
kindly offer to send me, may be new, but perhaps you
are not acquainted with the Turdus Nanus of my work,
to which it appears, if not the same, probably a new
variety! _Nous verrons_....

Please to collect all the Shrews, Mice, (field or wood),
rats, bats, Squirrels, etc., and put them in a jar in
common Rum, not whiskey, brandy or alcohol. All of the
latter spirits are sure to injure the subjects.

Audubon, who was now "killing two birds with one stone"—collecting
subscribers for one work and mammals for another, had found a strong
and willing helper in the young naturalist of Carlisle. On December 10
of the same year Baird wrote that he had discovered another Flycatcher,
as well as a small Woodpecker, which was apparently new, and had shot a
"Bay Lynx or Wild Cat a mile & a quarter from Carlisle; the cat ... was
2½ feet long & weighed 12½ pounds.... It was a source of great regret,"
said Baird, "that I was not able to meet you in Philadelphia when I was
there during the latter part of September. I saw Mr. Chevalier[180]
several times, and found him a very agreeable gentleman." Audubon
replied to this letter on Christmas Day, as follows:

_Audubon to Spencer Fullerton Baird_

NEW YORK, _December 25, 1840_.

MY DEAR SIR,

On my return yesterday from a tour of a month, I found
your kind favor of the 10th inst. at my house. I regret
exceedingly that you and I should not have met at
Philadelphia, as I feel sure by the style and contents
of your letters to me that you are fond of the study of
natural objects, as much as I am.

I have no doubt that your journey during the last
summer and autumn was a pleasing one to you, as I can
well conceive from the fresh recollections of my many
rambles.

You would oblige me much by sending me (through Mr.
Chevelier) the _Muscicapa_ you obtained Oct. 12th, and
also the small woodpecker "with the very broad bill".
I am anxious to see those birds, and will take especial
care of them, and also return them to you, free of all
expense.

I cannot at this moment return to the specimens you have
already sent me, but in my next letter, I will assure
you of the names of the subjects. I wish I could see
your Bay Lynx, as I feel somewhat confident that we have
more than two species within our limits.

Your anecdote connected with the sagacity of the
Weasel is quite pleasing to me, and will appear in my
biographies of quadrupeds bye and bye. I cannot, as yet,
give you any estimate of my work on the Quadrupeds of
our Country but will do so as soon as possible. With my
best wishes, for your health and prosperity, I pray you
to consider me as your friend and obt. servant,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

In the following letter by William Yarrell,[181] English naturalist and
sportsman, are interesting references to Audubon's smaller edition of
_The Birds of America_ as well as to the writer's _History of British
Birds_, which later became the standard work on the ornithology of
Great Britain:

_William Yarrell to Audubon_

[Addressed] J. J. AUDUBON Esqr
No. 86 White Street
New York.
[Superscribed by Audubon]
_March 10, 1841._

[English postmark] D
Paid
4 MR 4
1841

MY DEAR SIR,

Your letter, and also that of your son, are now before
me, both received so long ago as the middle of last
year—how time flies with those who are fully occupied—I
reproach myself for having allowed them to remain so
long unanswered—and hope my numerous avocations, which
absorb my whole time, will be admitted as my excuse. I
see Mr. B. Phillips every now and then, we meet only
to talk about you—I have received from his hands the
first 17 Nos of your smaller American Birds and like
them much—as I could not afford to have the large work
I make myself content with the small one, and shall
be happy to receive the continuation—pray tell me to
whom shall I make payment for them, shall it be to Mr.
Phillips if so, let me or him know, and it shall be done
immediately—I am quite of your opinion that there would
be some sale for it here—if it was advertised and made
known, but a commission of 10. p cent will not tempt
any London Bookseller who is sufficiently known and
influential to be of any service to you—I exhibited my
numbers at the meetings of the Linnean and Zoological
Socities and gave the loose plates between them to
lay on the table, but without the name of a London
Bookseller on the cover no one knows where to get the
work if Desirous of buying it.

I will now answer your inquiries for English Friends.
Earl Derby remains much the same—very well in health,
but deprived of the use of one side entirely, limbs
as well as body—unable to attend to other things,
he appears to devote himself almost entirely to
Zoology—Thomson his Superintendent of the Aviary is at
this time in London buying some new or rare pheasants
lately arrived here from China—and will have a valuable
addition to the stock to take back with him—Lord Derby
came to London by the Rail Road last March (1840) and
Thomson tells me, his Lordship means to come up again
this Spring. The Prince of Musignano now P. of Canino
I hear of by report from others—He is quite well,
continually publishing, and we hear that he means to
visit London in the course of the present year—of Mr.
Lear we hear the most satisfactory accounts—generally
through Mr. Hullmandill—he is greatly improved in health
and finances—a favorite with every body, patronized by
all who go there—and he too, we hear, means to visit
England in the course of the present year. Mr. Gould
returned safe to England in August last, after an
absence of two years and 8 months—Two years of the time
were passed on Van Diemans land and various parts of New
Holland—he did not go to New Zealand—He has brought home
a very large collection of Birds, with, in many cases,
the eggs and nests—He has commenced the publication of
the Birds on the same scale as his Birds of Europe, but
improved in execution—two parts are out: it is to be
published every three months. I sent off a letter this
day to your Edinburgh friend Mr. MacGillivray—he is a
candidate for the Professorship of Natural History in
the Marischall College of Aberdeen and wrote to ask me
for a testimonial of recommendation—this was the object
of my letter to him.—My second volume of the British
Birds will be complete in July next, I will send it to
you in one lump. Pray remember me to your good lady and
thank your son Victoire for me for his letter. I hope
you are all well, and with best wishes for a continuance
to you of all that is good—I remain very sincerely yours

Wm. YARRELL.

J. J. AUDUBON Esqr
New York—

Spencer Baird and his brother, William, were soon able to announce
another discovery, now well known the country over as the Least
Flycatcher, and in some sections by the onomatopœic name of Chebec. In
referring to it in his letter of June 21, 1841, Baird wrote:

There is one flycatcher respecting which we are in
doubt, and which was very abundant this spring. It is
the one we had considered _M. Pusilla_ but a thorough
examination of the Biography, has thrown doubt on this
supposition, it agrees pretty well with the _M. Acadica_
of Nuttall, but not with the _Acadica_, of the Synopsis.
I will send you one as soon as possible, as there is no
set of Plates in Carlisle to which we might refer.

In conclusion Baird added: "May we not expect to see you in Carlisle
before a great while? It would give us very great pleasure indeed."

Though Audubon gladly admitted this new-found species of bird at a
later day, he was not at first disposed to accept its validity, as will
appear in the following interesting letter which he sent to his young
friend:

_Audubon to Spencer Fullerton Baird_

NEW YORK, _July 29, 1841_.

MY DEAR SIR,—

I have not had time to answer your interesting favor
of the 21st until this morning, being now constantly
engaged in the figuring, &c., of the Quadrupeds of
Our Country; by which I mean that I actually work from
daylight every day until I retire to my necessary repose
at night.

Your observations upon the birds of passage the last
spring are what they have been almost throughout the U.
S. The very backward spring which we have experienced
this year did no doubt retard the coming into the States
the millions of passenger birds that come to us from
beyond our limits. The Fly-catcher of which you are in
doubt is nevertheless the _M. Pusilla_, and you must not
be surprised to find _perhaps_ some discrepancy between
the specimens you have procured and the descriptions you
may have read, as among mine these differences are quite
obvious and belonging to either sex or age, as is indeed
the case with most of our birds as well as among many of
our quadrupeds....

I cannot at present tell you when I may have the
pleasure of meeting you at your own domicile, and yet
this may happen quite unexpectedly.

Do you pay attention to the quadrupeds around you? If
not, I wish you would!—and moreover I should be highly
pleased to hear of your procuring for us all such as may
be found in your vicinity. You have _Bats, Wood Rats,
& Mice, Weasels, &c., &c._, all of which I should like
to possess specimens at your hands. Could you not save
all that you come across with in this way, place them
in _common good Rum_, and forward them to me at once or
as soon as you have some 2 or three species. I will most
cheerfully pay all expenses to Philadelphia addressed to
_J. B. Chevalier_, No. 70 Dock Street.

I am now as anxious about the publication of the
Quadrupeds as I ever was in the procuring of our Birds,
indeed my present interest in Zoology is altogether
bent toward the Completion of this department of Natural
Science.

Do please write to me often as I am always glad to hear
from you, and when I am somewhat slow in answering your
letters, be assured that it is altogether on a/c of the
excess of Labour that I have to go through.

Believe me with sincere good wishes
Your friend and servant,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

[Illustration: AUDUBON

AFTER A PORTRAIT PAINTED BY JOHN WOODHOUSE AND VICTOR GIFFORD
AUDUBON ABOUT 1841, NOW IN POSSESSION OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK. PUBLISHED BY COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.]

Although Audubon never went to Carlisle, young Baird, as we shall
see, repeatedly visited him in New York and became a favorite with his
family. A description of the new Flycatchers was published by the Baird
brothers in 1843, and represented Spencer's first contribution to his
favorite science; Audubon included their discovery in the Appendix to
the seventh and last volume of _The Birds of America_ in 1844.

Audubon's occupations in the summer of this year are clearly reflected
in the following letter:[182]

_Audubon to Dr. George Parkman_

NEW YORK, _June 20th 1841_

MY DEAR FRIEND.—

I intended having written to you yesterday by Miss
Shatuck, who was good enough to spend the day with
us, but I was so deeply engaged on a drawing of
Rocky Mountain Flying Squirrels, that the time of her
departure came suddenly and I could merely ask of her
to say to you, that your last letter and remittance had
reached us in safety, and with the unexampled promptness
shewn by you on the three occasions you have been
troubled with the delivery of 46 parts of our work to 46
of our Boston subscribers; and for which as I have said
before I am very sorry to have nought but our sincerest
thanks and gratitude to you for this, so remarkable,
proceeding. May God reward you and yours for all your
generous actions.

I thank you also for your memorandums about the
quadrupeds in the Boston Museum as I see that our animal
there may save me the trouble of going to the State of
Maine for it. When I was last under the hospitable roof
of our Friend Docr Shattuck, I saw in George's room a
No. of the "Penny Magazine" in which there is a plate
representing a family of Beavers at work, that reminded
me greatly of what I have seen in the ponds of Indiana
some thirty years ago, and which I should like to have
for a few days to assist in part in the making of the
background to my Drawing of these animals, drawn from
the Individual you procured for me. I will take good
care of the No. and will return it safely very soon.

Should George Shattuck have forwarded that No. to Mr. B.
of Baltimore, pray ask him to write to the later to send
it to me as soon as convenient. If per chance you could
procure for me a live _Hare in the Summer dress_ (It
is pure white in winter) pray do so and do not mind the
price or the cost of its conveyance to me. This animal
is abundant in the northern portions of your State and
is fully double the size of the common _Hare_ called the
"Rabbit."

With sincerest regards and kindest remembrances to all
around you and our mutual Friends,

believe [me] yours always

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

The "Parkman Wren"
well mounted will soon be
on your chimney mantle!

The unique specimen of the little Wren, referred to in the postscript
of this letter, had been discovered on the Columbia River by Dr.
Townsend some years before, and though Audubon had described it in
1839, his figure of it had but just appeared; this was doubtless
included, as Mr. Thayer remarks, in the parts of the octavo edition of
_The Birds of America_, which Dr. Parkman distributed at Boston in the
summer of this year.

As an indication of the zeal and energy with which Audubon undertook
his work on the quadrupeds, the following letter (dated "New York,
August 15, 1841," and addressed to "W. O. Ayres,[183] Esq., Miller's
Place, Suffolk county, Long Island, New York") will be read with
interest:

_Audubon to W. O. Ayres_

I am now closely engaged in conjunction with my friend
the Revd. John Bachman—of Charleston, S. C., in the
preparing of a work on the viviparous quadrupeds of
North America, and I have already drawn about one
hundred figures of these, including thirty-six species.

Now knowing the interest you feel towards the
advancement of Natural Science, in every department, I
have thought that should you assist us in the procuring
specimens, whether in the flesh or skin, dead or alive;
that we would be much benefitted by such aid.—Long
Island possesses rare and valuable species, and although
many of them are plentiful they are rarely procured
unless accidentally as it were. In your Rambles after
the feathered Tribe, you surely come across at times
with quadrupeds, and if you were good enough to shoot
them or to catch them and send them to me in the manner
mentioned below, I personally would feel extremely
obliged to you.

Bats, Wood Rats and Wood Mice, Shrews, Shrew Moles and
all the smaller animals can be forwarded in an earthern
jar immersed in good Yankee Rum.—The larger kinds can
be skinned, preserving the skull entire, and also the
legbone and the clavicles. One fore & one hind foot
ought to be pinned on a board or cork until perfectly
dried, and actual measurements and weights forwarded
with the specimens. Nos. accordingly with the notes of
localities and dates. Young and old are wanted. The Cat
Squirrel is now and then procured about you of a very
large size—the Woodchuck &c. but it is unnecessary for
me to give you a list as we are anxious to procure every
thing we can from every portion of the Union with the
view to ascertain their geographical range.

The expense involved in producing the early numbers of the small
edition of his _Birds_ must have been great, and Audubon was feeling
the strain, when the letter,[184] dated "New York—April 29, 1841," from
which the following extract is taken, was sent to his Boston agent:
"I doubt much if you are _actually aware_ that we have at this moment
in this city and at Philadelphia upwards of _Seventy_ persons employed
upon the present work, and that all these ... are to be paid regularly
each Saturday evening, and that _when we are out of temper_ it is not
without cause."

When Baird visited the Audubons, in New York, in January, 1842, he was
fascinated by the masterly drawings of birds and quadrupeds which were
then being produced, and was determined to pay more attention himself
to an art for which presumably he had little natural aptitude; he seems
also to have received a hint for the improvement of his somewhat loose
chirography. Upon leaving, Audubon presented his pupil with a copy of
the _Biography_ of Birds. After returning to his home, Baird wrote from
Carlisle, on February 8 of that year:

_Spencer Fullerton Baird to Audubon_

After a trial of two weeks I begin to find that I am
getting over the shock caused by the sudden transition
from the bustle of Broadway to the lifelessness of
Carlisle, and hope that by the application of the proper
means I may in time perfectly recover. Philadelphia
seemed dull but Carlisle was death itself. My visit now
however seems but as a dream, and I have settled down
into my old regular monotonous life as if I had never
been absent a day. When I arrived my friends had a great
many questions to ask of course, but almost the first
ones on every lip were about Mr. Audubon,—how he looked?
What was his age, whether the idea they had formed of
him from his writings was correct, many queries also
were respecting Mrs. A. and her sons; and they all
said that they would be ever grateful to them for their
kindness, to one away from home....

For want of other objects I have commenced to draw the
sternal and shoulder apparatus of our birds, a pretty
large collection of which I have been making for a year
past.... Have you heard from Mr. Lyon of Bedford yet
about the money he owes you? I was asking about him the
other day, of an acquaintance of his, who told me that
he was as good as gold in all his debts, & expressed
some surprise at his not having paid, as he generaly is
very punctual.... Last week I walked up to Pinegrove an
iron works about sixteen miles in the mountains where
resides the Mr. Ege I have so often spoken about as
the mighty Nimrod of our county. On my arrival I found
a fine wild cat hanging in the stable which had been
killed a few days before. On returning the next day I
took the cat with me slung across my shoulders, and on
reaching home after measuring & weighing it skinned it.
I am in hopes of getting some more from here, as they
promised to catch all they could for me.

Baird signed himself "Your affectionate pupil," and added in a
postscript: "I forgot to say that I had a fine steak of the wild
cat broiled and it tasted like a tender piece of fresh pork. I will
certainly eat the whole of the next one obtained. I intend to taste all
the Quadrupeds inhabiting this part of the country."

Audubon's interesting reply was in part as follows:

_Audubon to Spencer Fullerton Baird_

NEW YORK, _Feby. 10, 1842_.

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIEND.

It is about half an hour since I had the real pleasure
of receiving your letter of the 8th inst. and my earnest
thanks to you for it and its contents; to all of which
I will try to answer at your request.

That beautiful Carlisle, its surrounding hills bordering
its valleys, all within the bosom of quiet nature should
appear to you as a small affair when compared to our
largest city in the Union, is not at all remarkable,
but let me ask you the following questions. Did you
meet all your dear Parents and Friends quite well? Did
they not receive you with the kindest of welcomes? Were
not their _hearts_ and feelings towards you the same as
ever? Surely all this was fact, and being so, would you
not after all prefer _Little Carlisle_ than _Great New
York_ with all its humbug, rascality, and immorality?
Surely or do I mistake your nature sadly, you do! It
is now a good long time since I was young, and resided
near Norristown in Pennsylvania. It was then and is now
a very indifferent place as compared with New York;
but still my heart and mind oftentime dwell in the
pleasure that I felt there, and it always reminds me
that within a few miles of that village, my Mother[185]
did live, and it was there also that my good fortune
led me to know and to marry the excellent Wife I have
yet, at whose hands yourself have tried to be rendered
comfortable. Say what you will. "there is nothing like
home"... I wish I could be with you, if only for one
week, for then I imagine that between your friends of
the mountains, yourself, and myself, we could Tree a
"Catamount" and soon untree him. The tugging part of
that far-famed animal, I would cheerfully give up to
your youthful shoulders, but not so with the figuring of
it, yet for a while. Is there such a Beast in existence?
Do let me know as soon as you can. I am heartily glad
that you have procured a wild cat from the mountainous
part of Pennsylvania, and that you have preserved its
skin, which I beg you to forward as soon as you please,
along with whatever other quadrupeds you may have
in hand, that we may say more on those Beasts of the
Central States, than has ever been before told....

_Look out for Martens_, and try to find me some youself!
I am glad that you find wild cat meat pretty good, as it
corroborates the sayings of many others, who pronounce
it equal to young veal.

Let me say to you ("en passant") that your handwriting
is considerably improved, and depend upon it that
your attention _to Drawing_ will soon enable you as of
"copper plate." Go ahead!

I now wish you earnestly to offer our joint respects,
regards, and best wishes to all your family and friends,
and to believe me always,

Yours most truly,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.
86 White Street.

P. S. Thank you for what you say of the Bedford
gentleman. When I write next, I will mention him at
greater length. I wish you could let me know whether we
could procure first rate peach trees from your vicinity,
and how much 50 of them would cost. I should like to
have them assorted, soft, and clings yellow, or red, or
blood-red. We wish to plant these as early in March as
possible, if young trees, two years old could be had,
we might, perhaps, have fruit on some of them during
the next summer? Try what you can do for your New York
friend. [The following on outside of letter-sheet] I
will make up a box for you in a few days, and send it to
you through Mr. Chevalier.

Audubon, who ever found city life irksome, as early as 1841 had begun
to look about for a farm, or some retired spot within easy access to
New York, where he could establish the families of himself, of his two
sons, and have about him many of the animals which he then wished to
study and depict for his new work. Edward Harris would have been glad
to have had him for a neighbor, and wrote from Moorestown, New Jersey,
on July 5, 1841, suggesting that he examine "a small farm close to
_his_ village, containing about 25 acres of very good land," which
the owner was then willing to sell for $3,500, though, added Harris,
"when Mr. Havell was here, he asked $5,000 for it." A spot more to his
liking, however, was found on the Hudson River, in Carmansville, later
known as Washington Heights, where he purchased from thirty to forty
acres of land which had a river frontage of a thousand feet, from the
present One Hundred and Fifty-fifth to One Hundred and Fifty-eighth
Streets, and extended to the easterly limits of the village at the old
Bloomingdale Road, near the present Amsterdam Avenue. This tract was
well wooded, and among the grand forest trees on the place a large
tulip or white wood attracted general attention from its great girth
and commanding height. Audubon decided to place his house at the
foot of the river bluff, amid a cluster of fine oaks, chestnuts and
evergreens, and a clearing had to be made before the site could be laid
off; it was some years before the railroad came to mar his river view
and interrupt access to the beach. Audubon began to build in 1841, and
on February 24, 1842, Victor wrote to Edward Harris: "Our house in the
country is going on well, and will probably be ready for us in about
two months. John is at work out there every day"; they were planning,
he said, to raise pigs and poultry, and he inquired after "draining
tiles, such as are made near Philadelphia."

Audubon named his new estate "Minnie's Land," in honor of his wife,
Lucy, to whom he deeded the property, the Scotch form of her name
having no doubt come into familiar use during their residence abroad.
In April, 1842, they turned their backs on the city and occupied their
new home. Spencer Baird, when writing on May 3 of that year, said:

I have been in some doubt where this letter should be
addressed, since "86 White St." will not reach you, and
you must by this time be snugly fixed I hope in your
beautiful place up the River. Do not laugh therefore if
I prefix "Formerly" to the old superscription....

I suppose that the First Number of the "Quadrupeds of
North America" is out by this time, I hope that it will
be hailed by a large list of subscribers, and will do
what I can for this desirable end.

Submerged as Audubon was, with painting the _Quadrupeds_, keeping the
small edition of his _Birds_ in motion, and canvassing for subscribers
to both works, which he published himself, he nevertheless found
time for an extraordinary number of letters, which were written with
an elegance of chirography that diverts our attention from their
orthographic defects. In the labor of drawing and in all his business
affairs he was constantly aided by his sons.

In Audubon's time the center of Carmansville was a quarter of a mile to
the east of his house, while at a short distance below, on the river,
lay Manhattanville, at the present One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street,
from which men frequently came on summer evenings to help handle the
seine, fish then being plentiful in that part of the Hudson. The place
came to possess a good garden and orchard, with stable, dairy, and
poultry yards; enclosures also were made for deer, elk, wolves, foxes
and other wild animals. The old barn of the Audubon place stood higher
on the slope where the naturalist built his studio or painting house,
but no traces of either now exist. Though standing low, the house
commanded a wide sweep of the river with the Palisades on its opposite
shore, and such attractive surroundings were a never failing source of
delight and inspiration to the naturalist to his dying day.

In describing Audubon's activities, Parke Godwin made this note in the
spring of 1842:[186]

During the last winter, which he spent in this city, he
has worked on an average fourteen hours a day, preparing
a work on the Quadrupeds of America, similar to his work
on the Birds. The drawings already finished, of the size
of life, are master-pieces in their way, surpassing if
that be possible, in fidelity and brilliancy, all that
he has done before. Early in the summer he will depart
to continue his labors in the woods.

[Illustration: "MINNIE'S LAND" AS IT APPEARED IN 1865.

After a lithograph published in D. T. Valentine's _Manual of the
Council of the City of New York_.]

[Illustration: "MINNIE'S LAND" AS IT APPEARS TO-DAY FROM THE RIVER
FRONT, POCKETED BY THE RETAINING WALL OF RIVERSIDE DRIVE.]

Before we glance at the half-submerged relic of Audubon's old house as
it stands today in upper New York,[187] we shall follow the same writer
in a visit which he made to "Minnie's Land" in the summer of 1842 but
did not describe until eleven years later;[188] we will only add that
at this time Audubon was in his fifty-eighth year, and not over sixty,
as this writer surmised. After passing beyond the outposts of the city
of that day, and turning into a rustic road which led directly to the
river, his walk

soon brought a secluded country house into view,—a house
not entirely adapted to the nature of the scenery,
yet simple and unpretending in its architecture, and
beautifully embowered amid elms and oaks. Several
graceful fawns and noble elk were stalking in the shade
of the trees, apparently unconscious of the presence of
a few dogs, and not caring for the numerous turkeys,
geese, and other domestic animals that gabbled and
screamed among them....

"Is the master at home?" I asked of the pretty
maid-servant who answered my tap at the door, and who
after informing me that he was, led me into a room on
the left side of the broad hall. It was not, however,
a parlor, or any ordinary reception-room that I
entered, but evidently a room for work. In one corner
stood a painter's easel, with a half-finished sketch
of a beaver on paper; in the other lay the skin of an
American panther. The antlers of elks hung upon the
walls, stuffed birds of every description of gay plumage
ornamented the mantle-piece; and exquisite drawings
of field-mice, orioles, and woodpeckers were scattered
promiscuously in other parts of the room, across one end
of which a long rude table was stretched to hold artist
materials, scraps of drawing paper and immense folio
volumes filled with the delicious paintings of birds
taken in their haunts.

The master, who soon appeared,

was a tall, thin man, with a high arched and serene
forehead, and a bright penetrating gray eye; his white
locks fell in clusters upon his shoulders, but were
the only signs of age, for his form was erect, and his
step as light as that of a deer. The expression of his
face was sharp, but noble and commanding, and there was
something in it, partly derived from the aquiline nose
and partly from the shutting of the mouth, which made
you think of the imperial eagle.

His greeting, as he entered, was at once frank and
cordial, and showed you the sincere and true man. "How
kind it is," he said with a slight French accent, and
in a pensive tone, "to come and see me; and how wise,
too, to leave that crazy city!" He then shook me warmly
by the hand. "Do you know," he continued, "how I wonder
that men can consent to swelter and fret their lives
away amid those hot bricks and pestilent vapors, when
the woods and fields are all so near?"

When writing in 1845, Godwin gave further intimations of the
naturalist's appearance: "His forehead [was] high, arched, and
unclouded; the hairs of the brow prominent, particularly at the root
of the nose, which was long and aquiline; chin prominent, and mouth
characterized by energy and determination. The eyes were deep-gray, set
deeply in the head, and as restless as the glance of an eagle."

CHAPTER XXXIV

EXPEDITION TO THE UPPER MISSOURI

In the summer of 1842, when his two new undertakings were well in hand,
Audubon was planning a journey which he felt would help them both, his
long cherished but ever deferred expedition to the Far West; in the
dim perspective his mind's eye could trace the snowy summits of the
Rocky Mountains, a promised land he was never destined to see, though,
with true poetic justice, one of those grand peaks now bears his name.
At this time he was in his fifty-eighth year, and although his family
thought him too old for so arduous a journey, he would not be thwarted,
for his eye was undimmed and his natural force unabated.

The letters which passed between Audubon and Baird at this time show
how eager was his young friend to attach himself to the party. While in
Washington, July 27, 1842, Baird wrote:

After making several unsuccessful efforts to get a
second sight of you day before yesterday, I was obliged
to give up the attempt in despair. I went to the
Capitol at half past twelve and wandered over the whole
building, Library, Senate Chamber and House, without
being able to see or hear anything of your excellency.
In the evening as in the morning I was again at Fuller's
without avail, went up the street, listened awhile to
the Circus music, came back, you were in bed.

One thing I wanted to ask you about, was respecting
your proposed trip next spring.... Nothing would
delight me more than to go, if I can afford it. Next
what preparation would I have to make to fit myself
to accompany you. The journey ought to be a sort of
"Humboldt & Bonpland" one, for the purpose of increasing
the general sum of knowledge in every department of
science, physical as well as natural.... If there is
anything I can do for you here, do not hesitate to
command me.

Audubon's interesting reply to this letter will be given in full:

_Audubon to Spencer Fullerton Baird_

NEW YORK, _July 30, 1842_.

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIEND,—

Your letter of the 27th Inst. reached me yesterday. I am
truly vexed that I should have missed you at the Library
or the Congress Chambers, where I went (perhaps too
late) between 3 and 4 o'clock of the afternoon, having
been detained at the different Departments of State
where it was my duty to call, preparatory to the next
coming Great Western Journey.

Now it proves by your letter that you feel favorably
disposed to accompany me on this long thought-of and
contemplated Tour, and wish me to give you some idea
of the expenses, attached to such an undertaking; but
to this question I am quite unable to reply at present,
although I may do so in a few weeks, and which I shall
do, provided you write to me again on the subject.

I have no very particular desire to embark as deep in
the Cause of Science as the great Humboldt has done,
and that, simply because I am too poor in pecuniary
means and too incompetent; but I wish nevertheless _to
attempt_ to open the Eyes of naturalists to _Riches
untold_, and _facts hitherto untold_. The portions of
the country through which it is my intention to pass,
never having been trodden by white Man previously.

I have some very strong doubts whether the results of
the Antarctic Expedition will be published for some time
yet; for, alas, our Government has not the means, at
present, of paying some _half a Million of Dollars_ to
produce publications such as they should publish, and
connected with the vast stores of Information, collected
by so many Scientific Men in no less than Four Years of
Constant Toil and privation, and which ought to come
to the World of Science at least as brightly as the
brightest rays of the Orb of Day during the Mid-summer
Solstice. Oh, my dear young friend, that I did possess
the wealth of the Emperor of Russia, or of the King of
the French; then, indeed, I would address the Congress
of our Country, ask of them to throw open these stores
of Natural Curiosities, and Comply with mine every wish
to publish, and to _Give away_ Copies of the invaluable
Works thus produced to every Scientific Institution
throughout our Country, and throughout the World.

As you however appear desirous to present my thoughts
of your capabilities as one of the assistants in that
Stupendous undertaking, I send you enclosed what I hope
most sincerely may prove beneficial for such purposes.

Now as you have been kind enough to offer me your
services at Washington, I ask you to call upon Mr.
Cushing, M. C., of Mass.tts, and to ask him to have the
goodness to forward me the Letter promised me by the
President of the U. S., for, as I have not yet had it,
I somewhat fear that it has been missent.

Write me at once, and believe me,

Your friend, JOHN J. AUDUBON.

Audubon enclosed with this letter a warm recommendation of his friend
for the position of curator of the rich collections made by the
United States Exploring Expedition to the Antarctic, under command
of Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, then stored at the Patent Office
and National Institute, but nothing came of it and Baird went away
disappointed.

During the summer, in accordance with his usual custom, Audubon had
taken pains to fortify himself with credentials from the Government,
and had obtained excellent letters from President John Tyler, Daniel
Webster, Secretary of State, General Winfield Scott, who then held the
highest commission in the Army, John C. Spencer, Secretary of War, and
Lord Ashburton, a member of a special commission to settle the disputed
boundary between Maine and the British provinces. The letters given him
by Daniel Webster and President Tyler were as follows:[189]

_Daniel Webster to Whom it May Concern_

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME—GREETING.

Know Ye, that the bearer hereof, John James Audubon,
a distinguished naturalist and native citizen of the
United States, has made known to me his intention of
travelling on the continent with the view principally of
aiding the cause of science by extending his researches
and explorations in natural history, and as he is known
to me to be a man of character and honor and worthy of
all friendly offices and of all personal regard, these
are therefore to request all whom it may concern, to
permit him to pass freely, without let or molestation,
and to extend to him all such aid and protection as he
may need, and which becomes the hospitality of civilized
and friendly nations.

In testimony whereof I, Daniel Webster, Secretary of
State of the United States, have hereunto set my hand
and caused the seal of this department to be affixed at
the City of Washington, this the 24th day of July, A. D.
1842.

[Signed] DANIEL WEBSTER

_President John Tyler to Whom it May Concern_

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
WASHINGTON, _28th July 1842_.

The bearer of this, John James Audubon, is a native
citizen of the United States, who has informed me of
his intention of travelling on the continent of America,
chiefly to promote the cause of science by researches in
natural history. He is known to me to be a naturalist of
eminent acquirements and estimation, a man of character
and honor and worthy of all personal respect and regard.
I recommend him to my countrymen abroad and to the
authorities and inhabitants of other countries that he
may receive the friendly offices, aid and countenance
which are due to the interests of science and the rites
of hospitality among civilized nations.

JOHN TYLER,

President of the U. States.

John Bachman, who had agreed to be responsible for the letterpress
of the _Quadrupeds_, was already at work, as shown by the following
note[190] sent to Audubon at this time:

_John Bachman to Audubon_

CHARLESTON, _August_, 1842.

MY DEAR FRIEND:

I have just returned from a visit to the country, where
I left Mrs. Bachman for the benefit of her health. I
have a season ticket on the railroad, and, on my weekly
visits, I do much of my writing on Natural History. The
moment the clock strikes four I am up, and soon at work.
From this hour until seven, I have no interruptions.
I hope in this way to steal time to write about
_Quadrupeds_. When I get fairly under way, as I am now,
I am not easily diverted from the object before me, and
nothing but ill health or domestic affliction will keep
me back.

J. B.

On September 12 Audubon set out on a canvassing tour of Canada, on
which he went as far north as Quebec; as he passed his home, he hailed
his sons, who were sailing on the river, and the sight of them at this
moment brought tears to his eyes. Whitehall, New York, was reached on
September 13, St. Johns, Canada, on the following day, and on the 15th
he was in Montreal; three days were spent at Quebec (September 16-18),
where, as at other points, he met with the most gratifying success.
After reaching home in October, the following glowing account of this
tour and of the attractions of his new estate on the Hudson was given
in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Phillips of London,[191] dated from "New
York, 7th Nov., 1842":

[Illustration: AUDUBON

AFTER A PORTRAIT PAINTED BY JOHN WOODHOUSE AUDUBON ABOUT 1841, NOW
IN POSSESSION OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK.
PUBLISHED BY COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.]

_Audubon to Dr. Benjamin Phillips_

I went on a tramp to the Canadas, leaving our
comfortable abode on the 12th of Sepr. last and was
absent for a whole month. My Journey extended to
something like 1500 miles: during which I visited for
the first time, the North-American Gibralter [Quebec],
the sight of which was as new to me as it was wonderful
in the days of old. The views (for I must speak in the
plural) from the Citadel, are as far as I have seen
the grandest and the most sublime I ever gazed upon.
The St. Laurence River, is noble indeed, and when we
know that that stream carried forth to the Atlantic the
congregating waters of all our sea-lakes, we must not
be astonished at her great breadth, depth, and strength
of current to about 60 miles below Montreal. About the
latter city that noble stream is intercepted by many
rapids, and a vast number of Islands, the latter of
which so intersect the view that in some instances it
would prove quite out of the question to discover with
certainty either of the main shores. I visited the falls
of Montmorency, those of the Rivierre Serria and of
La Chan[u]diere. I besides made many an acquaintance
and a few very valuable friends. At Quebec I sold a
copy of our large Work to the Earl of Caledon who also
subscribed to our quadrupeds. At Montreal I sold several
Copies of our Small Edition of the Birds of America
and procured several good names to the quadrupeds. At
Kingston where I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted
with Sir Charles Bagot and family (all delightful
persons) I sold two copies of the large work to both
Houses of Parliament, and also procured their double
subscriptions to the Animals. Thus I returned home
highly pleased with all that I had done and seen. The
more perhaps because I procured in the meantime most
valuable specimens of rare quadrupeds and a fund of
information that can never be met with unless on the
ground of action....

Our dear "Minnie's Land" is improving as fast as our
poor pecuniary means will allow. We have done a good
deal since our purchase of it, in a wild state as it
was, and next spring we will have a good garden and
probably some fruit from our own young trees, of which
we have planted nearly 200 of the very best description,
including pears, aples, quinces, apricote, plumbs,
vines, nectarines, apricotes, etc., etc.... We have fish
whenever we draw the seine, and this summer we have
caught one sturgeon that measured upwards of 8 feet
... weight more than 200 pounds.... The "Boys" take
a sailing pretty frequently in their sail boat, but I
never join them in that, for attempts I have crossed the
Atlantic pretty frequently I have an inward dislike to
the water, after it is more than 2 or 3 fathoms deep!
We have now been enjoying that delightful season, which
our Americans call the "Indian Summer" and not a drop of
rain have we had for several weeks.... Would that you
all were here at this moment, at my elbow, from which
by a peep at the window, I gaze on the "Pallisades" and
the breath of the Hudson, between the trunks of the many
trees that stand at rest at present awaiting the return
of spring for a renewal of fragrant verdure, and fruits
innumerable....

We would be glad if you would ascertain whether a good
agent can be had to procure subscribers in England
for it [the _Quadrupeds_], or whether a responsible
bookseller would buy the copyright, & a certain number
of plates either coloured or plain.

A few weeks later Audubon wrote also to William Yarrell, hoping to
interest him in the foreign sale of his new publication, but as will be
seen by his friend's reply, now to be given, with indifferent success:

_William Yarrell to Audubon_

[Superscribed by Audubon]
Recd _28 Jany 1843_

[Addressed] J. J. AUDUBON Esqr.
77 William Street
New York

[Superscribed by Yarrell]
single letter.
P. Paid, W.Y.

RYDER STREET ST. JAMES
_London 17th Decr. 1842_.

MY DEAR MR. AUDUBON,

I have this morning received your letter of the 28th.
Novr. last, and as it is strictly a letter of business,
I reply to its various parts immediately.

About a month ago I received a note from Mr. Phillips
to say that he had received the Plates of the first
number of your work on the Quadrupeds of America—would
I come and look at them, and would I exhibit them at
the meetings of the Societies I belonged to for the
promotion of Natural History. I went to see them, and
have with pleasure exhibited them at the Linnean Society
on the third Tuesday in Novr. and at the Scientific
evening, as well as the monthly general meeting of
the Zoological Society, both of which occurred early
in Decr. and I then returned the 5 Plates to Mr.
Phillips—They were very much admired but I did not
obtain any request for a supply.

In reference to your next request, I must decline any
connection with the sale or publication of this, or
indeed any other foreign work, in this country. The
truth is, that having now been in the business nearly
forty years, I begin to be tired of work; the last part
of my History of British Birds will be published on the
1st of June 1843; with that part I shall give up my pen,
and write for money no more.

You are kind enough to give me some credit for
experience as a publisher, and some knowledge of the
persons who are likely to be purchasers of works on
Natural History here—My conviction is that you would
gain more by paying full commission to an established
Bookseller in London who would by advertising make your
works known, and where they might be obtained—than you
will by the best efforts of any private friend, even
though his kindness should induce him to take all the
trouble for nothing.

You say nothing about your family. I hope they are all
well.

I remain, Dear Sir,
Yours very truly

Wm YARRELL.

J. J. AUDUBON Esqr.

77 William Street.
New York.

In the following letter to Spencer Baird, Audubon was able to outline
more fully his final plans for the western journey:

_Audubon to Spencer Fullerton Baird_

NEW YORK, _Nov. 29, 1842_.

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIEND,

It seems to me as if an age had already elapsed since
I have heard from you or your whereabouts. Neither do
I know clearly whether in the way of correspondence,
you are in my debt, or I am in yours. Nevertheless I
now write to you, and request you to read this letter
more than once, and think deeply on the purport of its
contents that you may be the [more] able to form a true
Idea of what I intend to say [to] you, and for yourself
to give me a true answer, on which I can depend, no
matter whether it is to my liking or not.

It is now determined that I shall go towards the Rocky
Mountains at least to the Yellowstone River, and up
the latter Stream four hundred miles, and _perhaps_ go
across the Rocky Mountains. I have it in my power to
proceed to the Yellowstone by Steamer from St. Louis on
the 1st day of April next; or to go to the "_Mountains
of the Wind_" in the very heart and bosom of the
Rocky Mountains in the company of Sir William Drommond
Stewart, Baronet who will leave on the 1st of May next
also from St. Louis.

It has occurred to me that perchance you would like
to spare a few months of your life, to visit the great
Western Wilderness, and perhaps again prefer going in
my Company in preference to that of any other person?
Of this of course I cannot Judge without your answer to
this. I thought that you would have been in New York
long ere this, but not a Word of you has reached any
friend of yours here for several months. I have had an
abundance of applications from different sections of the
country, from Young Gents who proffer much efficiency,
etc., but I do not know them as I know you, and if the
terms which I am about to propose to you will answer
your own views, I wish you to write to me at once
so that I may know how to prepare myself for such a
Journey, and under such circumstances.

Would you like to go with me at any rate? By which I
mean, whether by Land, or by Water, and undertake,
besides acting towards me as a friend, to prepare
whatever skins of Birds or Quadrupeds, I may think
fit for us to bring home. The Birds, you might have
one half as your own, the Quadrupeds, (should you wish
it) you might have a 4th or every 4th specimen of the
same species, reserving to myself all that is new or
exceedingly rare.

I will procure and furnish _all the materials_ for
skinning, preparing, and saving whatever we may find
in Ornithology and in Mammalia, and in all probability
(if you think it absolutely necessary) pay one half
your expenses from the time we leave St. Louis until
our return to that city. You will have to work hard,
of course, but then I trust to that the knowledge
alone which you must acquire would prove a sufficient
compensation, and as you already know me pretty well, I
need not say to you that I am not "hard on the trigger."

It will be necessary for you to provide a good double
barrelled Gun, and an excellent Rifle, Shot bag, powder
flask, &c, a good hatchet, and a sufficiency of clothes
for something like a 12 month's Campaign. But if you
will write me at once upon the subject, I can give you
a more and a better a/c of all my intentions, than is at
present necessary.

If all goes on as I trust it will go on, we may be back
home by Octr. or Novr. next, 1843.

Do not lose a moment in writing to me in answer to this
after you have thought _deeply_ upon the matter.

Remember me kindly to all your friends, and believe me,

Yours Always,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

77 Williams Street, New York.

Baird was unable to reach a decision in the matter, and Audubon
actually wrote five more letters on the subject and kept a place open
for his young friend for nearly three months. On January 2, 1843,
he said that while it was impossible to determine with any degree
of accuracy the amount of money the journey might require, he could
"safely say that the sum of $500. would prove all sufficient, as our
passages to the Yellow Stone will be granted us free; and the expenses
from here or from Carlisle cannot exceed 50$ to St. Louis, and may
be less." "I have given up," he added, "all Idea of going South this
season, being determined to draw quadrupeds until a few days of my
leaving home for this grand and Last Journey, I intend to make as a
Naturalist." Again, on January 31, he wrote:

It appears from the whole tenure of your letter, that
that rascally article _cash_ is the cause which prevents
you from going along with me to the Yellowstone River
and back. Now, it happens that although we are far from
being rich, we are all desirous that you should go along
with me, because we all know you, and I particularly
so. Therefore, if you will go with me, and assist me all
you can, in the way of hunting, measuring and dissecting
Specimens when I am otherwise engaged, etc. etc. I will
furnish you with all that may be necessary for your
expenses, excepting your clothing and your gun or guns,
as you may have them.

[Illustration: LETTER OF EDWARD HARRIS TO AUDUBON, REGARDING HIS
INTENTION OF JOINING THE EXPEDITION TO THE UPPER MISSOURI, JANUARY
31, 1843. From the Deane MSS.]

In still another letter, of February 10, Audubon said:

That your kind mother should feel great reluctance in
the premises, does not astonish me, as my own good Wife
was much against my going on so long a Journey; but her
Strong Sense of what is best for us all, and as well
as in myself, the perfect confidence that our Maker's
Will will be done, she has now no Scruples of any kind,
and as for myself I rely as much as I ever have done
in the Support of the Almighty Being who has supported
and secured me against evils of all sorts in my Various
undertakings, and with this Idea at my heart, I feel
confident that although an Old Man, I could undertake
any Journey whatever, and no matter of their lengths
or difficulties. But I wish you would assure your good
mother that to go to Yellow Stone River, in a good
Steamer, as passengers by the courteous offers of the
President of the American Fur Company who himself will
go along with us, that the difficulties that existed
some 30 years ago in such undertakings are now rendered
as Smooth and easy as it is to go to Carlisle and return
to N. Y. as many times as would make up the Sum in Miles
of about 3000: Our difficulties (if any there are) will
be felt on our return; when we must come back to St.
Louis in one or 2 open boats in Sepr and part of Octr
next. The passage being longer or shorter accordingly
with the state of the Missouri at that Season.[192]

Young Baird would gladly have accompanied Audubon, but the fears of
his friends for his health and safety interposed, and the party as
eventually made up comprised, beside the naturalist, John G. Bell, as
taxidermist, Isaac Sprague, artist, Lewis Squires, general assistant
and secretary, and his old friend Edward Harris.

Audubon left his home on March 11, 1843, with Victor, who accompanied
him as far as Philadelphia, where a rendezvous was made before
starting west. The party went first to Baltimore, and by steam cars to
Cumberland, then by coach through the Gap, and across the Alleghanies
to Wheeling, where a steamer took them down river to Cincinnati. On
March 19 they reached Louisville, where Audubon spent four days with
his brother-in-law, William G. Bakewell, and on the 28th they arrived
at St. Louis, where the party completed their outfit. On April 25 they
began their ascent to the Missouri, in the steamer _Magnet_, a small
vessel belonging to the American Fur Company, with a motley crowd
of trappers, employed by the Company, representing French creoles,
Canadian French, Indians, and other nationalities.

During this journey, which lasted eight months, Audubon kept a
voluminous journal, which was written in a fine hand on large sheets of
linen paper that could be easily rolled and carried in his pocket; this
was afterwards sent to Bachman, was returned, and was lost for fifty
years, or until 1896, when it was recovered from an old secretary by
Audubon's granddaughters, one of whom published it in 1898.[193] It is
a highly interesting and spirited narrative from beginning to end, and
abounds in graphic pictures of the Indians and trappers, the military
posts and pioneer settlements, the abundant bird life and big game,
the biggest of which, the buffalo, was then seen by Audubon in a state
of nature for the first time, the grand and turbulent rivers, and the
smiling or frowning face of the great wilderness so soon to be changed
by the devastating hands of civilized man.

What Audubon thought to be a new finch, discovered near the Snake
Hills in Missouri, was named for Edward Harris, and though it proved
to have been previously described, the bird is still known as "Harris'
Finch"; a few days later a new vireo, _Vireo bellii_, received the name
of John G. Bell, his taxidermist, and similar honors were passed to
artist Isaac Sprague, to whom was dedicated the little titlark, _Alauda
spragueii_, now _Anthus spraguei_.

In those days of river navigation, the frequent tying up for fuel or
necessary repairs, not to speak of grounding in a treacherous channel,
gave almost daily opportunities for the hunters to go ashore, and these
occasions seldom failed to produce something interesting, new, or rare.
In the Indian country, at Bellevue, Nebraska, where they touched to
land a part of their cargo, Audubon "saw a trick of the trade, which
made _him_ laugh. Eight cords of wood were paid for with five tin
cups of sugar and three of coffee—value at St. Louis about twenty-five
cents."

They began to meet with buffalo about the mouth of the James River,
in South Dakota, on May 20; the ground, said Audubon, was literally
covered with their tracks, and the bushes with their hair. On the same
day they discovered "Meadow Larks whose songs and single notes _were_
quite different from those of the Eastern States," and this proved to
be the first notice of the Western Meadow Lark, which later appeared
as the _Sturnella neglecta_ in the small edition of his _Birds of
America_, then in course of publication.

Audubon's opinion of the Indian was modified considerably after having
seen him in the western wilderness, and his confidence in George
Catlin's descriptions was completely shattered; "His book," he said,
"must, after all, be altogether a humbug. Poor devil! I pity him from
the bottom of my soul; had he studied, and kept up to the old French
proverb that says, 'Bon Renommé vaut mieux que ceinture doré,' he might
have become an honest man—the quintessence of God's works."

After forty-eight days and seven hours out of St. Louis, on the 12th
of June, they reached Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellowstone,
where the _Omega_ left them and returned down river. The country proved
so interesting that the naturalist remained two months at the fort,
where he occupied the room which had been used by Maximilian, Prince
of Neuwied, when traveling through the western parts of America ten
years before; here Audubon made many drawings. Buffalo were abundant
on all sides, and a favorite occupation was shooting wolves from the
ramparts of the fort. On June 18 they killed two antelope and two deer
before noon, and "immediately after dinner," he said, "the head of the
old male was cut off, and I went to work outlining it; first small,
with the camera lucida, and then by squares." On the 30th he wrote: "I
began drawing at five this morning, and worked almost without cessation
till after three, when becoming fatigued for want of practice, I took
a short walk, regretting that I could no longer draw twelve or fourteen
hours without a pause, or thought of weariness."

On the 15th of July they started up the shore of the Yellowstone in
a cart. The party soon had had enough of buffalo hunting, and on one
day the naturalist was nearly speared by a charging bull that had been
wounded. "What a terrible destruction of life," he says, "as it were
for nothing, or next to it, as the tongues only were brought in, and
the flesh of these fine animals was left to beasts and birds of prey,
or to rot on the spots where they fell. The prairies are literally
_covered_ with the skulls of the victims, and the roads the Buffalo
make in crossing the prairies have all the appearance of heavy wagon
tracks." Foreseeing the departure of the buffalo, he wrote:

One can hardly conceive how it happens, notwithstanding
these many deaths and the immense numbers that are
murdered almost daily on these boundless wastes called
prairies, besides the hosts that are drowned in the
freshets, and the hundreds of young calves who die in
early spring, so many are yet to be found. Daily we see
so many that we hardly notice them more than the cattle
in our pastures about our homes. But this cannot last;
even now there is a perceptible difference in the size
of the herds, and before many years the Buffalo, like
the Great Auk, will have disappeared.

On the 9th of August he added: "I have scarcely done anything but
write this day, and my memorandum books are now crowded with sketches,
measurements, and descriptions." Those who maintain that a "howling
wilderness" is a place that never howls, should read his note for
August 19: "Wolves howling, and bulls roaring, just like the long
continued roll of a hundred drums"; or this for the 21st: "Buffaloes
all over the bars and prairies, and many swimming; the roaring can be
heard for miles."

At Fort Union they built a Mackinaw barge forty feet long, which they
christened the "Union," and on the 16th of August they started for
St. Louis, which was reached in safety on the 19th of October. There
they unloaded, and "sent all things to Nicholas Berthoud's warehouse."
"Reached home," said Audubon, "at 3 p. m., November 6th, 1843, and
thank God, found all my family quite well."

When Audubon was returning by the canal route from Pittsburgh to
Philadelphia, he was sought out by a young traveler, who afterwards
related the following incident.[194] The naturalist, he was told, was
under "a huge pile of green blankets and fur," which he had already
noticed on one of the benches, and had taken for the fat pile of some
western trader. Having waived his choice of a berth in Audubon's favor,
he observed that "the green bale stirred a little,—half turned upon its
narrow resting place, and after a while sat erect, and showed us, to
our no small surprise, that a man was inside of it. A patriarchal beard
fell white and wavy down his breast; a pair of hawk-like eyes glanced
sharply out of a fuzzy shroud of cap and collar." When this stranger,
drawn by a sense of irrepressible curiosity, had ventured near enough
to recognize the "noble Roman countenance" thus obscured, he saw that
it was Audubon in his wilderness dress; he was "hale and erect, with
sixty winters upon his shoulders, and like one of his old eagles,
feathered to the heel." Audubon's conversation, said this writer, was
impulsive and fragmentary, but he showed him with pleasure some of his
original drawings of animals, as well as a living collection of foxes,
badgers and Rocky Mountain deer, which he was bringing home.

To follow this narrator further:

The confinement we were subjected to on board the
canal-boat was very tiresome to his habits of freedom.
We used to get ashore and walk for hours along the
tow-path ahead of the boat; and I observed with
astonishment that, though over sixty, he could walk us
down with ease.... His physical energies seemed to be
entirely unimpaired.... Another striking evidence of
this he gave us. A number of us were standing grouped
around him on the top of the boat, one clear sunshiny
morning; we were at the time passing through a broken
and very picturesque region; his keen eyes, with an
abstracted, intense expression, peculiar to them, were
glancing over the scenery we were gliding through, when
suddenly he pointed with his finger towards the fence
of a field, about two hundred yards off. "See! Yonder
is a Fox Squirrel, running along the top rail. It is
not often I have seen them in Pennsylvania." Now his
power of vision must have been singularly acute, to have
distinguished that it was a Fox Squirrel; for only one
other person ... detected the creature at all.

The second Mrs. Victor G. Audubon[195] said that on the day the
naturalist returned, "the whole family, with his old friend, Captain
Cummings, were on the piazza waiting for the carriage to come from
Harlem.... He had on a green blanket coat with fur collar and cuffs;
his hair and beard were very long, and he made a fine striking
appearance. In this dress his son John painted his portrait."[196]
This interesting portrait, which is still in possession of the family,
and which is reproduced by his granddaughter in the work from which
we have just quoted, shows a man whose apparent age, as suggested by
his flowing white hair and grayish white beard, overshoots the clearer
testimony of his smooth face and bright eye; as already noticed,
Audubon had not then attained his sixtieth year.

Upon his return at this time Audubon is said to have been mistaken for
a Dunker, or member of a sect of Quakers noted for their ample beards.
On November 29 Bachman wrote: "I am glad to hear that your great beard
is now cut off. I pictured you to myself, as I saw you in my home, when
you came from Florida, _via_ Savannah. You jumped down from the top
of the stage. Your beard, two months old, was as gray as a Badger's. I
think a grizzly-bear, forty-seven years old, would have claimed you as
'par nobile fratrum.'" Bachman was apparently disturbed about Audubon's
personal habits at this time, for he added in the letter just quoted:
"I am a teatotaler. I drink _no wine_, and do not use _snuff_. I hope
that you are able to say the same."[197]

Spencer Baird wrote to Audubon from Washington, November 24, 1843, to
congratulate him upon the safe return of his western party, saying:
"From time to time short notices of your whereabouts and doings
appeared in the newspaper and a thousand times I wished that the fears
of my friends had not prevented me from accompanying you to the scenes
of action." Audubon thought that he might well regret the difficulties
that had stood in his way; in replying he said that he had seen "not
one Rattlesnake and heard not a Word of bilious fever, or [experienced]
anything more troublesome than Moschitoes and of these by no means
many"; they had brought home a Swift Fox, an American Badger, and a
live Deer, which they thought might prove to be new, fifteen new birds,
as well as a certain number of quadrupeds, besides "many of the Birds
procured on the Western side of the Big Rocky Hills by Nuttall and
Townsend." He felt that much still remained to be done, his only regret
being that he was not what he "was 25 Years ago, Strong and Active, for
willing he was as much as ever."

In 1844 Audubon brought to a close his octavo edition of the
_Birds_ by adding seventeen species, eleven of which were new and
represented his discoveries on the Upper Missouri of the previous
year. The 500th plate, and last of the series which marked the end of
Audubon's life-long labors in ornithology, was dedicated to "Baird's
Bunting," _Emberiza bairdii_. "If a trace of sentiment be permissible
in bibliography," said Elliott Coues,[198] "I should say that the
completion of that splendid series of plates with the name _bairdii_
was significant; the glorious Audubonian sun had set indeed, but in
the dedicating of the species to his young friend Spencer F. Baird
the scepter was handed to one who was to wield it with a force that no
other ornithologist of America has ever exercised."

CHAPTER XXXV

FINAL WORK DAYS

Painting the _Quadrupeds_—Assistance of Bachman and
Audubon's sons—Copper plates of the _Birds_ go through
the fire in New York—Audubon a spectator at the
ruins—Bachman's ultimatum—Success of the illustrations
of the _Quadrupeds_—Bachman's letterpress—Recommendation
of Baird—John W. Audubon in London—Bachman's
assistants—His life and labors—Decline of Audubon's
powers—Dr. Brewer's visit—Audubon's last letters—His
death at "Minnie's Land."

After 1844 Audubon's remaining energies were devoted exclusively to
his work on the _Quadrupeds_, in which it is necessary to discriminate
between the large folio of illustrations, which began to appear, in
parts, as early as 1842 and which was completed in 1846; the text, of
which he lived to see but one volume finished; and lastly, the first
and only composite edition of both text and plates, which was published
by Victor Audubon in 1854.[199] This series of works, as already
noticed, was produced in collaboration with the Reverend John Bachman,
of Charleston, South Carolina; Bachman assumed entire responsibility
for the text, but owing to his comparative isolation from large
libraries, and to the demands of professional duties, he depended on
the Audubons to supply him with specimens and books.

Honest John Bachman, whose motto was, "Nature, Truth, and no Humbug,"
was suffering sadly, he said, from lack of tools, when he wrote to
Victor Audubon in November, 1844:[200]

The books are to be found in New York and Philadelphia,
but are expensive. I would not have you buy them; but
could you not copy for me such articles as we need?

I enclose my plan. I wish always, a month before the
time, that you would give me notice of the species you
intend to put into the hands of the engraver, and send
me, at the same time, the specimen. I cannot describe
without it; I will guess at nothing.

I find the labor greater than I expected, and fear that
I may break down and, therefore, cry in time, "Help
me Cassius or I sink!" Writing descriptions is slow
and fatiguing work. I cannot, in the careful manner
that I am doing them write more than three in a week.
My son-in-law, Haskell, has copied forty-two closely
written pages for me. I cannot shorten the articles,
many of them I ought rather to lengthen. With patience
and the help of all, I hope, however, to get on—the work
may be lighter as we proceed.

The following is my daily practice: I am up at 4 A. M.,
and work till breakfast, and recently, when parochial
duties would permit, have kept on until 3 P. M.

The brush of my old friend, Audubon, is a truth-teller.
I regard his drawings as the best in the world. Let us
be very careful to correct any errors of description
that have crept in on the plates—I see a few in the
lettering—they can be corrected in the letter-press; and
let us be so cautious as to have nothing in the future
to correct. There is but one principle on which a just
man can act; that is, always to seek the truth and to
abide by it.

Bachman wrote again on the 29th of that month:

About the little mouse—I cannot see a needle in a
haystack; or give it a name without knowing what it
is. Friend, descriptions cannot be written, as a man
works at making Jews-harps—so many a dozen in a given
time. My credit, as well as your father's, is so deeply
concerned, that _I will not publish a day before I am
ready_....

I have such confidence in you, that I believe that you
will do all that I wish. In doing this, however, you
will have your hands full. Mine are so—God knows! Will
not my old friend, Audubon, wake up, and work as he used
to do, when we banged at the Herons and the fresh water
Marsh-hens?

Bachman explained that he was the "schoolmaster," and when the boys
were a little lazy, he would have to apply the whip.

In March, 1844, Spencer Baird sent Audubon a live Pennant's Marten
or Fisher, a rather rare animal even at that time, and now all but
extinct. Said Baird:[201]

It was found in company with an older one, in Peter's
mountain, six miles above Harrisburg about five weeks
ago. After a most desperate resistance the old one
was killed, having beaten off a large pack of dogs, to
whose assistance the hunters were obliged to run. This
individual ran up a tree, and being stoned by the men,
jumped off to a distance of forty feet! when being a
little stunned by the leap they ran up quickly and threw
their coats over it, and then secured it. The old one
measured three feet and a half from nose to end of tail,
and was about one third larger than this.... It seems
to be in very good health, and is without exception the
most unmitigatedly savage beast I ever saw. The Royal
Bengal Tiger, or the Laughing Hyena are neither of them
circumstances to it.

Audubon used this marten as the model for his illustration of the
species (shown in natural size, Plate xli of the _Quadrupeds_); in
noticing its habits later, he said:[202]

We kept this individual alive for some days, feeding it
on raw meat, pieces of chicken, and now and then a bird.
It was voracious, and very spiteful, growling, snarling
and spitting when approached, but did not appear to
suffer much uneasiness from being held in captivity, as,
like many other predacious quadrupeds it grew fat, being
better supplied with food than when it had been obliged
to cater for itself in the woods.

Baird also tried to secure for Audubon the "far-famed catamount" alive,
which, from stories related by hunters, he thought might be different
from the young of the panther or puma, and also a specimen of the
true black fox in the flesh; though unsuccessful in either quest, his
efficient aid was greatly appreciated by his friend. In February, 1845,
Baird paid a visit to the Audubons at their Hudson River home, where
he was warmly received; as his biographer relates,[203] upon leaving
he was invited to select any duplicate bird skins he desired from the
naturalist's collection, then at John G. Bell's taxidermist shop in New
York; he accepted this generous offer, and chose about forty specimens.

It is evident that some trouble-maker had disturbed the serenity of
John Bachman's mind when the following interesting letter was written
by Audubon to balm the feelings of his old friend. It is evident that
Audubon at this time expected to collaborate in the letterpress of
their work, but that plan, according to Bachman's own statement, was
never carried out:

[Illustration: DRAWINGS FOR "THE VIVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS OF NORTH
AMERICA": ABOVE, AMERICAN PORCUPINE, DATED "NEW YORK, MARCH 6,
1842," AND PUBLISHED IN 1844; BELOW, RABBITS.

After the originals in water color in possession of the American
Museum of Natural History, New York.]

_Audubon to John Bachman_

[MINNIE'S LAND] _Jan. 8, 1845_.

MY DEAR FRIEND

Never have I been so much astonished as I have been
at reading your letter to Victor, and to which I feel
myself bound to answer at once.

In the first place you must have been most unmercifully
misled by the "mutual friend" of whom you speak, when
saying that through that individual _you did_ understand
that I never used your name as a coadjutor in the work,
which is now publishing on the Quadrupeds of North
America under the names of both I and you—Why you should
have taken such a report or saying as truth is actually
beyond my most remote thought, and again, why did you
not long ago, write to me at once on this mysterious
subject.

But to put an end to all this stuff, let me assure you
that nothing of the kind has ever taken place, and this
I could well prove by upwards of one hundred of our
last subscribers, all of whom would be ready to testify
that before receiving their names on my list, I always
mentioned your name to each of them, and many that know
you were glad that I had so good and so learned a man
at my elbow—I should amazingly be glad to know who the
"mutual friend" is, as I think I could give him a lesson
on propriety, being a mutual friend, that would serve
that kind gentleman for the residue of his life—But
enough of this, and all that I am sorry for is that you
should not have answered "my short letters," in some of
which I particularly requested you to forward me a fine
black bear and one or two wolves, by which you would
have saved me fully fifty dollars as I have had to pay
sixty dollars for two of these vile rascals, and two
hundred dollars for a pair of Elks besides paying the
highest of prices to draw other animals—

Now my friend I wish you would set in real earnest,
and whenever it is convenient to you in preparing the
letter-press for our work. I have made a beginning and
have written Ten articles already in — days, to wit all
the plates of No 1, and the first of No 2 which are as
follows—

Lynx Rufus—Wild-Cat
Arctomys monax—Maryland Marmot
Lepus Townsendii
Neotoma Floridana
Sciurus Richardsonii
Canis (Vulpes) fulvus
The Beaver
The history of the Bison 28 pages
and Fiber Zybethicus (muskrat) 12 pages,
Tamias quadrivittatus

This will shew you that I have not been very Idle since
I began and I should like to know from you, whether you
would like to see what I have said of these, as if you
do, I will have them copied as soon as I receive your
letter, and will forward the whole, and the additional
written in the interim, at the same time. I have a
beautiful drawing of a fine male moose, that of the Elk
is already engraved, and next week we will forward to
the engraver no less than five or six drawings of the
best quality. by the way I am sorry that you should
look upon the Texan Skunk as a bad figure. The animal is
an ungraceful one in its Singular Colouring, but it is
nevertheless quite true to nature, with all its specific
characters to a _T_.

Victor wrote to you that I was anxious to have your
opinion about the Title page and I hope you will send
me your ideas forthwith on that subject. I send you now
by mail a long article about our work which I conceive
and hope will prove to you that the "mutual friend" knew
but very little of my feelings or actions or sayings as
regards you—

I really & most truly regret that you should have been
put out, and mis-led about this our work by a third
party, who must to say the least of it [have] abused
your credulity to the very extreme.

However, the sooner forgotten, the sooner mended. it is
with deeply felt regret from every one of my Family that
we read the account in your letter of the condition of
your dear wife, but hope that she will accompany you
early next spring to visit our humble but comfortable
residence. Now do Come! Present our joint regards to
every one of your family, and believe me when I say that
none will ever feel more delighted than I, to hear of
the welfare of the beautiful "Rabbit"—

And now that I am exceedingly fatigued, having been
writing for upwards of seven hours, I will wish you good
night & all the blessings that God may grant to [the]
good man and to every member of his family—Do not forget
me near your Sweet heart.

Your ever faithfully attached &
Sincere friend

J. J. A.

In July, 1845, a destructive fire devastated a large section of the
city of New York, including the warehouse in which the copperplates of
Audubon's _Birds_ were stored; many believed that the plates had been
ruined, and one of these was the writer who after witnessing the event
gave the following dramatic account:[204]

But who had lost most of all that pale crowd that hung
like ghosts around the scene, and gazed with watery
eyes, and blue compressed lips, over the ruin? An erect
old man, with long white hair, glanced his strong bright
eye as coldly over the glowing, smoking desolation, as
an eagle would, who watched the sunrise chasing mists up
from the valley. J. J. Audubon looks over the grave of
the labor of forty years!

_The Plates of the Birds of America_ are buried beneath
those smoldering piles! Ye money changers dare not
break the stillness with a sob, though the last cent of
your sordid hoards be gone! ... go away! Ye have lost
nothing!... Yet that dauntless old man is not dismayed;
he and Fate knew each other's faces in battle long
ago. Let those who know how to love and venerate such
labors—to sympathize with such grievous calamities,
exhibit it in their prompt patronage of the new work now
issuing—The Quadrupeds of America—and in the care which
shall be taken to preserve the volumes of the Plates of
the Birds, now in existence—the value of which will be
five-fold increased!

When Baird heard the untoward news, he wrote from Carlisle, August 4,
1845: "It is with sincerest regret that I see by the papers that your
copper plates were injured or perhaps ruined by the fire which occurred
a few weeks ago. Various reports are circulated respecting your loss,
and among so many contradictory ones it is difficult to get at the
truth of the case. Might I ask you to let me know the truth of the
matter." In a postscript to this letter he added: "I forgot to say that
I have been elected professor of Natural History in Dickinson College.
The situation is entirely nominal, nothing to do & no salary whatever."
Audubon replied promptly on the 7th of August:[205] "You have been too
well-informed about the plates of our large work. They have indeed
passed through the great fire of the 19 ul°; but we are now engaged
in trying to restore them to their wonted former existence; although
a few of them will have to be reingraved for use, if ever that work is
republished in its original size at all."

Bachman, who paid a long visit to the Audubons in the late summer
or early autumn of 1845, said that while he was at "Minnie's Land,"
Audubon painted "Le Conte's Pine Mouse" with his usual facility and
skill, but he detected a change in his mental powers. For a long time
Bachman had complained of the want of books, which the younger Audubons
failed to supply, and of lack of specimens, which no doubt their
father wished to retain for use in his own studies, until at length his
patience was gone and he tried another form of appeal. The following
letter[206] to their mutual friend, Edward Harris, shows that he was
then determined to throw up the responsibility which had been assumed
in the _Quadrupeds_ unless what he regarded as "reasonable requests"
were complied with forthwith:

_John Bachman to Edward Harris_

CHARLESTON, _Decem. 24_, 1845.

Friend Harris, you can be of service to me, to the
Audubons & the cause of science. I will tell you how.

I find the Audubons are not aware of what is wanted
in the publication of the Quadrupeds. All they care
about is to get out a No. of engravings in two months.
They have not sent me one single book out of a list of
100 I gave them and only 6 lines copied from a book
after having written for them for 4 years. When he
published his birds he collected hundreds of thousands
of specimens. In his Quadrupeds—tell it not in Gath—He
never collected or sent me one skin from New York to
Louisiana along the whole of the Atlantic States. Now
he is clamorous for the letter press—on many of the
Quadrupeds he has not sent me one line & and on others
he has omitted even the geographical range—I know
nothing of what he did in the West having never received
his journal & not twenty lines on the subject. I am
to write a book without the information he promised to
give—without books of reference & above all what is a
sine qua non to me without specimens. In the meantime my
name is attached to the book, and the public look to us
to settle our American species, and alas I have not the
materials to do so.

Now this you can do for me. I am willing to write every
description and every line of the book. I do it without
fee or reward. But—1. Books of reference or copies
of them he must obtain. 2. He must publish no species
without my approbation. He has made some sad mistakes
already. 3. He must procure such information as I
shall write for. 4. _He must send some person—say when
John returns—to make a tour for collecting specimens
through the states of the west especially._ I find the
smaller Rodentia differing every 600 miles. Richardson's
species differ from those of New York—ours are once more
different from those of N. Y. Leib [?] found a number
of new species in Illinois. The New Orleans squirrels
differ from ours—California once more new. Now on this
last particular—the necessity of giving me specimens
to describe from I wish you to speak to Audubon. I
cannot consent to impose on the public. I cannot settle
the species without specimens. [Tell] him what I have
written and [of what I have] complained. Show him this
letter if you should [think] it will accomplish the
end. I shall soon have the volume finished as well as
I am able from the scanty materials with which I am
furnished. Then they will be clamorous for the second
volume. Now I do not like to make any threats, but if my
reasonable requests are not complied with I have made
up my mind not to write another line at the end of the
first volume. I have not made up my mind hastily. It is
the result of four years remonstrance, mortification,
and disappointment. Once and for nearly a year I gave up
the matter in hopeless despair. I again resumed it on
the solemn promise of Victor to do all I wished. Three
months have since gone round and not one book sent—only
ten lines copied—and a constant clamor for the letter
press. But I am called off.

If Audubon was remiss in supplying the necessary materials, it is
possible that Bachman, in turn, may have failed to appreciate the load
which his friend's shoulders had carried for the five years then past.
To Bachman specimens and books were, of course, absolutely essential,
but Audubon needed them also, as well as subscribers and the large sums
of money necessary to keep his great enterprises in orderly movement.
At all events, Bachman's ultimatum brought immediate results, and it
might not be wide of the mark to affirm that to the tactful Harris we
virtually owe the completion of that admirable work, _The Viviparous
Quadrupeds of North America_. It should be noticed that at the time the
complaining letter was sent, John W. Audubon was in Texas, engaged in
making collections, though, as it proved, with little success; Victor
searched the country for the needed books, and his father's Missouri
River journal was despatched to Charleston, without delay.

On New Year's Day, 1846, Bachman wrote to his friend:

As I do not like to disappoint you in anything, I send
you one of the articles. It is about a fair sample of
the whole.... I try to incorporate as much as I can of
your own, but, in most cases, your notes have come too
late.

You see how plain Haskell writes: I should think that
by this time, he has copied three hundred pages as
correctly as the inclosed.

In his letter of March 6 he said:

For the last four nights, I have been reading your
journal. I am much interested, though I find less about
the quadrupeds than I expected. The narratives are
particularly spirited, and often instructive, as well
as amusing. All that you write on the spot, I can depend
on, but I never trust to the memory of others, any more
than to my own....

To return to your Journal. I am afraid that the shadows
of the Elk, Buffalo, and Bighorn hid the little Marmots,
Squirrels and Jumping Mice. I wish you had engaged some
of the hunters to set traps. I should like to get the
Rabbit that led you so weary a chase. Write to C.[207]
and find out some way of getting—not his princess
brain-eating, horse-straddling squaw, but what is better
than such a specimen from the Blackfoot country—1st. The
Skunk; 2nd, Hares, in Winter colors; and 3rd, the Rabbit
that you chased. In your Journal your descriptions of
Buffalo hunts are first rate. I don't like my article
on the "Beaver"; I shall have to write it over again.
If I could only borrow _Temminck's_ large work. Every
library here is open to me, and you would be astonished
to see the number of books in my own library; but the
scientific works of close comparison are not among them.
I had written letter after letter, but might have saved
ten dollars postage.

Audubon wrote to Baird on February 2, 1846, to remind him of the
Catamount, which was thought not to be "the Cougar," and of the Black
Fox: "for the latter," he said, "I do give you my word that I would
willingly pay you Twenty Dollars by a draft upon us at Sight." In
another letter from "Minnie's Land, N. Y.," of March 14, he said:[208]

Could you procure a black and a Silver Fox for us, we
will be willing to give a good price for either in the
flesh, and preserved in common New England Rum, and
forwarded by express to 78 John St, N.Y.

We expect to see John at home in about Six or Seven
weeks. He has made a very poor Journey of this one, and
will have to go to Europe this summer, I have no doubt.

Concerning his son's journey to Texas, Audubon had written Spencer
Baird, September 30, 1845:[209]

My son John will leave this for the West and South-West,
as far as the confines of Texas, about the last of
next month, and intends being absent until the first of
March. Would you like to go with him provided you can
pay your own expenses? He will take one of our Servant
men along to help him in the procuring of Quadrupeds and
Birds, of which he hopes to procure some, if not a good
number of new Species.

As Baird gave no reply, Audubon sat down on Christmas Day, 1845, and
wrote again to his young friend:[210]

I hope and trust that you were not offended at my
letter, when I wrote you on the Subject of accompanying
our son John to Texas where he is now I hope safe and
sound, and I believe at Corpus Christi....

... I have at last received a fine Red Fox from our
Friend Ed. Harris, who although he did not kill it,
obtained the Cunning Animal very shortly after its
death. I have drawn it to the size of life, and I think
made a good figure of it.

I have been drawing pretty constantly these last past
weeks and have finished 6 plates for the Engravers....
We are all hard at Work preparing the letterpress for
the 1st Vol. of the Quadrupeds, a copy of which I hope
to send to you about the beginning of April.

Audubon's prediction in regard to his son was correct, and after
John's return from Texas, in April, 1846, he started for England on
June 10, with his wife and family; he remained in Europe until May,
1847, engaged, as his father said, "in making figures of those arctic
animals, of which accessible specimens exist only in the museums of
that quarter of the globe."

The Audubons, as we have seen, now tried to keep John Bachman better
supplied, and in the spring of 1846 sent him several boxes of skins,
with the urgent request that all which pertained to animals that had
not been figured be returned as soon as possible. On March 13 Victor
wrote that Temminck's monograph could not be found in all America,
not in Boston, or Philadelphia, but that a copy would be ordered
from Europe at once. In those days Charleston was farther removed in
time from New York than California is now from Boston; two weeks was
required for a letter of one naturalist to reach the other, and the
difficulties of coöperation were correspondingly great. On May 31
Audubon acknowledged the return of the skins, but said: "Judge of my
astonishment, when I could not find a single one of the small animals,
Shrews, and Scalops argentatus, the latter of which I am anxious to
draw at once."

The summer and autumn of 1846 bore heavily on John Bachman, subject
as he then was to a "thousand calls and interruptions," and "bowed
down, and almost distracted, with anxieties and grief."[211] But the
first volume of the letterpress which had given him so much trouble was
finished in November, and was published by Audubon at the close of this
year. It was at once recognized as a standard and authoritative work,
which was then without a competitor in America, and as Louis Agassiz
affirmed, without an equal in Europe. At the time of its issue the
twentieth number of the folio illustrations was nearly ready; the text
itself had 271 subscribers, calling for 281 copies,[212] though only
the eastern cities had then been canvassed.

[Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF VOLUME I OF THE ENGLISH EDITION OF
THE TEXT OF "THE VIVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS OF NORTH AMERICA."]

Early in 1846 Baird wrote to Audubon:[213] "I have made drawings of
the sculls of our quadrupeds which are at your service if you want
them. They are Mink, Wild Cat, Ground Hog, _Lepus Sylvaticus_, _Neotoma
Floridana_ and others. I have got a Camera Lucida now and intend
trying to draw with it. Anything I can do for you in this way will be
cheerfully done." When he wrote again, towards the close of this year,
some important events had happened, as shown by this letter:

_Spencer Fullerton Baird to Audubon_

CARLISLE _Nov. 4, 1846_.

DEAR MR. AUDUBON

I have been intending to write for a long time, to
find out how you all are at Minnie's Landing, and how
yourself is particularly, but have put it off from time
to time for various reasons. I can do so no longer, and
must beg you to let me know these particulars.

Since my last visit to you, two pretty important events
have happened to me. The first was getting married,
the second, settling down steadily in my Professional
chair.[214] My wife is the only daughter of Col.
Churchill Inspector Gen. of the Army, now with Gen. Wool
in Mexico. She suits me exactly, being as fond of birds
& snakes & fishes etc. as myself. I have even given her
a lesson or two in taxidermy.

My duties as professor consist in teaching Animal
Physiology, Natural Theology & Mathematics. My salary is
small $400 but I hope will be larger hereafter. I have
to work hard, but that is good for me.

Please let me know how the quadrupeds get along. Is
the first vol. published? How does John get along in
England? What has become of his Texas birds?

Please to tell me the address of your friend Ayres. I
have been collecting fishes for some weeks, and wish to
correspond & exchange with him on this subject. I can
send him a good many species.

Please give my love to all your kind family. My wife (to
whom two years ago I gave a picture of yourself, as the
most acceptable present) sends hers also, and desires
exceedingly to see one to whom her husband owes so many
obligations of every kind. Believe to be as ever

Yours most affectionately

SPENCER F. BAIRD.

Audubon's immediate reply was as follows:[215]

_Audubon to Spencer Fullerton Baird_

MINNIESLAND.
_Nov. 8th, 1846._

MY DEAR FRIEND,

We were very happy to hear of your Success in obtaining
a Professorship. I wish you had been more minute as to
the amount of your Salary as I consider 400$ as a very
small sum. If you have not a house, fuel, and furniture,
&c &c &c to compensate for so small a sum, and having
so much to perform for it. We are all glad that you have
a good helpmate in the shape of a wife, and we would be
very glad to have you under our roof, even now; but as
the winter is now fast approaching we hope to see you
certainly some time next spring, or during the summer,
as you know that then our place is worthy to reside
at. The fishing is then Capital. The residence of our
Friend, W. O. Ayers, is on Long Island, and I think that
a letter addressed to him at Sag-Harbor, will be sure to
be received by that good Friend of ours.

He will be glad to receive the collection of fishes
which you have procured for him, and I know will be
most happy to exchange for other fishes or subjects
if you should desire any at his hands. Please to give
your Dear Lady our best love, and congratulations on
her having such a capitally perfect husband. We are all
well at present. I have not done anything with the Birds
which, indeed, my son Victor has sent to the Academy of
Philadelphia. I suppose I need not look any more for a
Black Fox in the flesh from you during the next winter.

Consider me always my Dear Friend,

Your most sincerely attached,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

Should you procure a black fox, be sure to forward him
uncut to our office New York 78 John Street. Adieu, and
God bless both you and your Dear Wife.

This is a mistake, I brought them back, V. G. A.

* * * * *

The letter press will be ready in a few days. I will
forward a Copy to you to Philada. from whence you can
no doubt easily get it. I will join my Father, dear Mr.
Baird, in congratulations, and in sincere wishes for
your happiness & welfare.

Yours faithfully,

V. G. AUDUBON.

Victor Audubon's gift of the volume was acknowledged by Baird on
January 19, 1847, when he said:

I have been trying for some time past to find time for
writing and thanking you for the copy of the Viviparous
text. Never had mortal man such a feast as I in turning
over the pages and reading the interesting and copious
accounts of the habits of animals, many of which
were unknown to me beyond the name. I was exceedingly
gratified by the kind terms I found myself mentioned
throughout the book, more so than I deserve. Be assured
that no effort of mine however humble shall be spared
to assist in the perfecting a labor so stupendous and
important as that in which you are engaged. Would that I
could be of more substantial aid by sending half a dozen
subscribers, I may do so yet, who knows.

There was soon another matter of vital importance which Baird wished to
announce to his friend, and, on February 8, he wrote Audubon:

Very much to my astonishment I received last Saturday
a letter from Mr. Dana saying that he had written to
Dr. Pickering that I would make a good curator of the
Smithsonian institute, and advising me if I wished
the place to write immediately to Prof. Henry and
enclose my credentials. Now I would like the situation
amazingly and write to ask you to make out a flaming
recommendation for the place & send me as soon as
possible. Say what you please about qualification &c. I
would be obliged to you for the exertion of any personal
influence you may have on the board of Regents. When
there I would hope to be materially useful to you in
your labors.

This was followed, on February 11, by a cordial letter from Audubon, in
which he said:

I am quite convinced myself that no one can easily be
found so well adapted for such a trust as yourself
and if my testimoney as to your knowledge and high
character and industry, and your zeal in seeking a
perfect acquaintance with the various branches of
Natural History, and all the scientific and literary
pursuits which have heretofore occupied you, may be of
any service, please present this note to the Honorable
Board of Regents, who I trust will receive it as an
evidence of my ardent desire for your success, the more
readily as I have the honor, I think, of knowing some of
the Board personally.

Spencer Fullerton Baird's subsequent career, following his appointment
as Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in July, 1850,
as successor to Professor Henry, its first Secretary, as the organizer
of the United States National Museum and the Fish Commission, now the
Bureau of Fisheries, as one of the ablest students of birds and fishes
which the country has ever produced, as well as the friend of science
and scientific men everywhere, is now well known, and has been ably set
forth by his most recent biographer.[216]

[Illustration: JOHN W. AUDUBON'S INSCRIPTION IN A COPY OF VOLUME I
OF THE TEXT OF THE "QUADRUPEDS" (ENGLISH EDITION) PRESENTED TO JOHN
E. GRAY.]

John W. Audubon spent the winter of 1846-47 in London, where he was
engaged in painting subjects for his father's work on the _Quadrupeds_.
While he was there, arrangements were made for the publication in
that city of the first volume of the letterpress; this appeared in
May, 1847,[217] closely following the American edition of the previous
year, and it was the only European issue of the text of that work. At
this time also John Audubon made the acquaintance of the distinguished
zoölogist, John Edward Gray, then in charge of the great collections
which were being brought together under his direction at the British
Museum. Gray was asked to furnish descriptions of the animals which
the younger Audubon had painted, but, as will appear from the following
letter, he declined:[218]

[Illustration: AUDUBON

AFTER THE ENGRAVING BY NORDHEIM OF A DAGUERREOTYPE MADE BY BRADY,
IN NEW YORK, ABOUT 1848.]

[Illustration: AUDUBON

AFTER HIS LAST PORTRAIT, A DAGUERREOTYPE MADE IN NEW YORK ABOUT
1850. PUBLISHED BY COURTESY OF CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.]

_John Edward Gray to John Woodhouse Audubon_

_4 May 1847_
BRIT. MUSEUM

MY DEAR SIR

I am very sorry that I am so occupied that I cannot
undertake to furnish you with the descriptions of the
American Mammalia which you have figured here but I
think you will find that Dr Richardsons descriptions are
so accurate and detailed that you had better copy them
for the work than have more imperfect descriptions by a
less experienced and minute describer.

at the same time should Dr Bachman on composing the Work
want any note or the distinction between any two species
or the description of any one wh have not contained in
Richardson Work & he will write to me I shall have great
pleasure in immediately replying to his request—

Wishing you and your family a pleasant voyage believe me

Yours truly

J. E. GRAY

Bachman was married in 1849 to Maria Martin,[219] his former wife's
sister, who had aided Audubon in drawing the accessories of his
large plates. While engaged upon the _Quadrupeds_, he wrote to Victor
Audubon, from Madison Springs, Georgia, on June 30 of that year, as
follows:[220]

I began working four hours a day, now I can work for
twelve. I shall lessen the hours, should I find my
strength failing. This is my tenth working-day. I
have finished seventeen articles, and arranged notes
for another. I have used as many of your notes as I
could. Maria copies carefully. She lops off to the
right and the left with your notes and mine: she
corrects, criticizes, abuses, and praises us by turns.
Your father's notes, copied from his journal, are
valuable—they contain real information; some of the
others are humbug and rigmarole; but you have done so
well as to surprise us....

I hope that if nothing untoward happens, the Second
Volume will be finished in a month, and the Third Volume
next winter.

[Illustration: LETTER OF JOHN BACHMAN, NOVEMBER 7, 1846, ADDRESSED TO
MR. GEORGE OATES, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

From the Jeanes MSS.]

About thirty years later, when Victor Audubon's sister-in-law[221]
was making a disposition of his literary effects, a bundle of
manuscripts was saved and given to Mr. George Bird Grinnell. Included
in it were a number of Audubon's letters, which are now reproduced,
as well as a considerable section of the printer's copy of _The
Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America_, Volume I; this was in various
handwritings, including little of Bachman's himself, much of Victor's
and of John G. Bell's; a little of this copy also was made by the
second Mrs. Bachman and by other and unknown hands, possibly those
of one of Bachman's daughters and of his son-in-law, Reverend John
Haskell, all of whom are known to have assisted in this labor.

When we recall the disadvantages under which John Bachman worked, it
must be acknowledged that he was deserving of all the credit which
he received. Born of Swiss and German stock at Rheinbeck, New York,
in 1790, he clearly remembered walking in the mock funeral procession
that was held in his village when the country was mourning the death
of Washington in 1799. From early boyhood he was an ardent enthusiast
in the study of nature, at a time when such studies were generally
frowned upon in country districts as not only idle but positively
harmful. He trapped the beaver, and from the sale of its skins was
able to make his first purchase of books on natural history. While a
young man he became acquainted with Alexander Wilson and learned to
know him well, having joined him in field excursions and collected
birds for him in northern New York; on Wilson's recommendation he
succeeded both him and his nephew, William Duncan, in the Elwood
School, at Milestown, Pennsylvania, where he taught for a year. While
there, a youth of barely fifteen, he was invited, no doubt through
the influence of Wilson, to meet Alexander von Humboldt at a dinner
given in honor of the great traveler at Philadelphia in 1804. From a
pastorate in Shagticoke, New York, Bachman in 1815 went to Charleston,
South Carolina, where he presided over the Lutheran church for nearly
sixty years, and became thoroughly identified with the South. Beloved
as few men ever are in their community, he was widely honored for his
attainments in natural science.

In an address on Humboldt, dictated by Bachman when in his eightieth
year, and too feeble to deliver it himself, he alluded to the event
noticed above to show "how scanty, in those days, was the material in
natural science." Among the few naturalists who were present on the
occasion of the dinner, which was held in Peale's Museum, were, he
said:[222]

the two Bartrams, Wilson, the ornithologist, Lawson,
his engraver, George Ord and a few others.... Few
speeches were made and those were short—there was no
formality.... Humboldt was then, as he was afterwards,
in every society, "the observed of all observers"....
I saw him every day during the few days he remained in
Philadelphia. He inserted my name in his note-book,
and for the last sixty years we corresponded at long
intervals.... It would be very gratifying to me, and
interesting to your societies, if I could have exhibited
to you his autograph in some of his letters; but, alas!
my whole library and all my collections in Natural
History, the accumulation of the labors of a long life,
were burnt by Sherman's vandal army, and, with the
exception of a single letter, which, by accident, fell
into the hands of another member of my family, I possess
no memorials of one who condescended to speak of me as
a friend.

As we have noticed, Audubon's large illustrations of the _Quadrupeds_
were completed in 1846; this marked the ebb tide of his powers,
and his son, John, who had painted nearly one-half of the originals
of the large plates, like Victor, continued to aid Bachman in the
prosecution of that work. The first number of this lithographic series
was introduced by the common American wildcat, or _Lynx rufus_, in
three-quarters natural size, followed by the proverbial ground hog,
"Maryland marmot," or woodchuck, shown in both young and adult state,
in the size of life. Plate No. 4 reproduced an exquisite drawing
of four Florida rats climbing over a pine branch. Some of the elder
Audubon's plates of squirrels are particularly fine and recall the best
of his more famous bird pictures; the gray fox (No. 3, Plate xxi) is
sniffing at a feather blown from a farmer's yard; in another drawing
a rascally old black rat and its three young ones are robbing a hen's
nest and breaking up the eggs; Hudson Bay squirrels reach after hazel
nuts which hang in clusters from green boughs above; opossums, with
sardonic grin, are making for the ripe, orange fruits of the persimmon,
holding to the branch with their rat-like, coiled tails; the swift fox
(_Vulpes velox_) sits on the ground, barking like a dog, with head
up-turned, while the better known red fox (No. 18, Plate lxxxvii)
struggles in an old-fashioned steel trap, the toothed jaws of which
have gripped a paw above the heel, and you observe that his tail is
where, in the circumstances, it is bound to be—between his legs. While
many of these plates are of the highest degree of excellence, the
colors are apt to be too vivid and the execution is far from uniform.

[Illustration: AUDUBON'S LAST (?) LETTER TO EDWARD
HARRIS, FEBRUARY 22, 1847.

From the Jeanes MSS.]

Thomas M. Brewer, a valued friend and correspondent,[223] in response
to an urgent request, "ere it be too late," paid a visit to the famous
naturalist on the Fourth of July, 1846, of which he has given this
record:[224]

I found him in a retreat well worthy of so true a lover
of nature. It was a lovely spot, on a well-wooded point
running out in the river. His dwelling was a large
old-fashioned wooden house, from the veranda of which
was a fine view, looking both up and down the stream,
and around the dwelling were grouped several fine old
forest trees of beech and oak. The grounds were well
stocked with pets of various kinds, both birds and
beasts, while his wild feathered favorites, hardly
less confiding, had their nests over his very doorway.
Through the grounds ran a small rivulet, over which was
a picturesque rural bridge.

The patriarch ... had greatly changed since I had last
seen him. He wore his hair longer, and it now hung in
locks of snowy whiteness over his shoulders. His once
piercing gray eyes, though still bright, had already
begun to fail him. He could no longer paint with his
wonted accuracy, and had at last, most reluctantly, been
forced to surrender to his sons the task of completing
his Quadrupeds of North America. Surrounded by his
large family, including his devoted wife, his two
sons, and their wives, his enjoyment of life seemed to
leave little to him to desire. He was very fond of the
rising generation, and they were as devoted in their
affectionate regards for him. He seemed to enjoy to the
utmost each moment of time, content at last to submit
to an inevitable and well earned leisure, and to throw
upon his gifted sons his uncompleted tasks. A pleasanter
scene or a more interesting household it has never been
the writer's good fortune to witness.

Audubon's last (?) letter to Edward Harris, here reproduced, is dated
at "Minnie's Land, Feby 22, 1847," and refers to the letterpress
of the _Quadrupeds_. His last published letter to Baird, in which
he recommended him to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution,[225] was written at "Minnie's Land, Feb. 11, 1847."
In Spencer F. Baird's last published letter[226] to him, dated at
"Carlisle April 24, 1847," he refers to "a fine specimen living of a
Red Fox," and added: "If you want him let me know _immediately_ and I
will send him on _immediately_." On July 16 of that year Baird entered
this note in his diary:[227] "Went to Mr. Audubon's by stage. Found him
much changed."

While Audubon never became blind, as has been erroneously stated,
it troubled him to use glasses, and when from failing powers he
could no longer paint, his heart seemed broken. Like Jonathan Swift,
who compared his own case with that of the proud forest tree whose
withering top showed to every passerby the first sign of decrepitude,
so the mind of Audubon gave way before his splendid physique utterly
broke down.

Bachman, who visited his old friend in the spring of 1848, has given
this picture of the naturalist's household in a letter[228] from
"Minnie's Land, May 11, 1848":

I found all well here, as far as health is concerned.
Mrs. Audubon is straight as an arrow, and in fine
health, but sadly worried. John has just come in from
feeding his dogs. Audubon has heard his little song sung
in French, and has gone to bed. Alas, my poor friend,
Audubon, the outlines of his countenance and his form
are there, but his noble mind is all in ruins.

The following letter was written by Victor Audubon to his
father-in-law, John Bachman, before February 8, 1849, when his brother
started on the ill-fated expedition to which he refers:

My brother will leave in a few days for California, he
will be absent, perhaps for eighteen months.

This journey is undertaken with the hope that he may
be able to get gold. What may be the result, God only
knows. John will be accompanied by Col. H. L. Webb,
as military leader; the party consists of about eighty
picked men. One of Dr. Mayer's sons wished to go with
John, but unluckily, his application came after the
party was made up, so they could not take him.

I should like much to see you all, but now it will be
impossible for me to go so far from home.

My dear old father is apparently comfortable, and enjoys
his little notions; but requires constant care and
attendance; the rest are well. Your granddaughters are
growing finely, and are well educated; soon we shall
call in a "_Maitre de danse_," to polish them up and
_improve their understanding_.

I am just about to start for Washington, to get letters
from the President for John and I will try and see the
collection brought back by the exploring expedition,
including the famous Black-tail Deer. I am in a great
bustle, the office is full of Californians.

The California party, which eventually consisted of nearly one hundred
young men, sought to reach the goldfields by way of Texas, Mexico
and Arizona; attacked by cholera in the valley of the Rio Grande and
deserted by their leader, a remnant of the company chose in his stead
young Audubon, who bravely conducted them to their destination. John
Audubon returned in the following year, after thirteen of the members
of the party and $27,000 had been lost in the venture.

Like a patriarch of old, as a friend had once pictured him, Audubon
passed the end of his days surrounded by loving and able retainers,
who, like "ministers of state," were only too glad to execute his
every wish. Distinguished and handsome in age, appearing to many older
than he actually was, for years his snowy locks and benign countenance
attracted every passer on the street, and for each he had a friendly
look, word, or greeting, until in him were fulfilled the words of the
Psalmist: "When thou art young thou goest whither thou willest, but
when thou art old another shall lead thee, and thou shalt go whither
thou willest not." On the 27th of January, 1851, Jean Jacques Fougère
Audubon died, before attaining his sixty-seventh year, "as gently as a
child composing himself for his beautiful sleep."

CHAPTER XXXVI

AFTERWORD: AUDUBON'S FAMILY IN AMERICA

After the death of the elder Audubon, his sons, under the leadership
of Bachman, continued the work on the _Quadrupeds_ until the third and
last volume of the letterpress was completed in 1852. On March 13 of
that year Bachman wrote to Edward Harris:[229]

Rejoice with me, the book is finished. I did not expect
to have lived to complete it. But Victor Audubon came
on, and I made him hold the pen, while I dictated with
specimens and books before me, and we went on rapidly;
we worked hard, and now we are at the end of our labors.
I have, at last, prevailed on them to give the Bats. At
the end of the work, I intend to give a synopsis and
scientific arrangement of all our American species,
including seals, whales and porpoises. This will be
included in the letter-press of the Third Volume.

Here I will venture to consult you in regard to the
publication of additional plates of species, not figured
in the Large Work. A very small Arvicola and Shrews, we
may not obtain, and they cannot be figured; but nearly
all are within our reach. Some of the subscribers have
bound up their plates, and there cannot be a sufficient
number to make even half of another Volume. I propose,
as all these figures will be contained in the _Small
Work_, that they should be inserted in the letter-press
of the _Large Work_, so that subscribers, by merely
paying the cost of the small plates, would have the work
complete—what do you think of this?

What do you think of Victor's obtaining one hundred and
twenty-nine subscribers in about three days, and I think
he will double the number, next week; so, if the "Large
Work" will not pay, the "Small" one, and this is large
enough, is sure to do it.

When Victor was canvassing the South for the second or composite
edition of this work, Bachman wrote to a friend in Savannah, on March
25, 1852:[230]

My son-in-law, Victor G. Audubon, is on a rapid visit to
the South, and has a week or two to spare, which he is
desirous of devoting to the obtaining of subscribers to
the "American Quadrupeds." The Work (Miniature) will be
complete in about thirty numbers, furnished monthly at
$1.00 per number.

The figures were made by the Audubons, and the
descriptions and letter-press were prepared by myself.

I have no pecuniary interest in this work, as I have
cheerfully given my own labors without any other reward
than the hope of having contributed something toward
the advancement of the cause of Natural History in
our country. I am, however, anxious that the Audubons
should, by a liberal subscription, receive some
remuneration for the labors and heavy expenses incurred
in getting up this work. Of the character of the work it
does not become me to say much. I will only add that in
my department is summed up the result of investigations
pursued through a long life, and, I think, the figures
have never been equalled in any publication either in
Europe or America.

May I bespeak from you a little aid to my esteemed
son-in-law, Mr. Audubon, in assisting him to procure
subscribers. He is a stranger in your city; his time
is limited, and his stay among you will necessarily be
short.

By the aid of two friends here, he obtained two hundred
and fifty subscribers in a few days.

On the 9th of April Bachman wrote to his son-in-law: "Will you not
return to New York by the way of Charleston and sail from here, take a
manuscript volume in your pocket, and four hundred good and true names
on your list?"

The reception accorded to the illustrations and text of this work had
encouraged the brothers to do for the _Quadrupeds_ what their father,
with their aid, had so successfully accomplished for the _Birds_, by
presenting text and plates, as Bachman said, in "Miniature." In this
they succeeded as admirably as before, John reducing all the large
plates, by the aid of the camera lucida, for the octavo edition which
was published in 1854.

The following historical evidence of the appreciation which Audubon's
works have received at the hands of the National Government I owe
to Mr. Ruthven Deane, to whom the reader of these pages is already
indebted for many illuminating facts. Dr. Theodore S. Palmer was
recently inspecting governmental records at Washington, when he
accidentally came upon the following entry:

Chap. CXXIX.—An act making appropriations for certain
Civil Expenses of the Government for the Year ending the
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven.

To enable the Secretary of State to purchase one hundred
copies, each, of Audubon's "Birds of America" and
"Quadrupeds of America," for presentation to foreign
governments, in return for valuable works sent by them
to the Government of the United States, sixteen thousand
dollars.

[Act of August 18, 1858 (LL State., 90).]

In John Woodhouse Audubon's family there were two sets of children,
two by his former wife, Maria R. Bachman, and seven by Caroline Hall,
to whom he was married on October 2, 1841. Victor Gifford Audubon, who
had no children by his first wife, May Eliza Bachman, was married on
March 2, 1843, to Georgiana Richards Mallory, an Englishwoman, and six
children were born to them between 1845 and 1854. Of the naturalist's
fifteen grandchildren, six are believed to be now living (1917).[231]

[Illustration: HOUSE FORMERLY BELONGING TO VICTOR GIFFORD AUDUBON,
EAST FRONT, AS IT APPEARS TO-DAY; MRS. JOHN JAMES AUDUBON KEPT HER
PRIVATE SCHOOL IN THE CORNER ROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR.]

[Illustration: HOUSE FORMERLY BELONGING TO JOHN WOODHOUSE AUDUBON,
SOUTH FRONT, AS IT APPEARS TO-DAY; AT THE RIGHT IS "THE CAVE,"
WHERE THE COPPER PLATES OF "THE BIRDS OF AMERICA" WERE STORED.]

In 1852-3 Audubon's sons built houses for their growing families on
their mother's estate; Victor's was placed just north of the original
homestead, and John's not far away. On the slope behind John Audubon's
house, a small building, later known as the "Cave," was specially
constructed for the safer keeping of the famous copper plates, which
had already passed through fire,[232] and not wholly unscathed. Mr.
John Hardin, now (1915) a serene and clear-eyed man of eighty-four,
who settled in that neighborhood in 1852 and who was intermittently
employed by the younger Audubons for a decade, has told me that he
boxed with his own hands all of the copper plates, after wrapping
each in tissue paper, and stored them in that building; whenever John
Audubon wanted a plate, John Hardin would go to the "Cave" and get it
for him.

In 1856 Victor Audubon published a second reduced edition of his
father's _Birds of America_, in which the text and plates of the first
octavo were reproduced with little or no change. At about that time
Victor suffered an injury to the spine,[233] and after 1857 he was
completely invalided; he died in his own home, August 18, 1860.

To quote the daughter of John W. Audubon:[234]

During this long period of my uncle's illness all the
care of both families devolved on my father. Never a
"business man," saddened by his brother's condition,
and utterly unable to manage, at the same time, a fairly
large estate, the publication of two illustrated works,
every plate of which he felt he must personally examine,
the securing of subscribers and the financial condition
of everything—what wonder that he rapidly aged, what
wonder that the burden was overwhelming! After my
uncle's death matters became still more difficult to
handle, owing to the unsettled condition of the southern
states where most of the subscribers to Audubon's
books resided, and when the open rupture came between
north and south, the condition of affairs can hardly
be imagined, except by those who lived through similar
bitter and painful experiences.

In 1858 or 1859 John W. Audubon entered upon an ambitious project,
which the outbreak of the Civil War, aided, it is believed, by the
unscrupulous dealings of business partners, rendered disastrous.
In association with Messrs. Roe Lockwood, & Son, New York, and the
lithographers, Messrs. J. Bien & Company, Number 180 Broadway, with
whom considerable money had been invested, a second and American
edition of his father's great folio on _The Birds of America_ was
attempted. An atlas of 106 double elephant plates, reproduced in colors
on stone with slight but numerous changes from the original copper
plates, was completed as Volume I in 1860;[235] the war, which broke
immediately afterwards, completely ruined the enterprise, so that but
few copies of the work were dispersed and an immense stock of plates
was rendered useless; the burden of debt was undoubtedly increased by
the issue of seven octavo volumes of text.[236]

Many years later, hundreds of persons who knew of Audubon's work only
through its great reputation, and who had never learned to discriminate
between a hand-colored copper-plate engraving and a lithograph, were
deceived by an adroit, but essentially spurious advertisement of these
inferior reproductions when they were being exploited by a firm of
Boston book dealers. The original bulk of these large lithographs must
have been vast indeed, if the following story, which was attributed
to a member of the firm in question, be true: "We bought the entire
stock of those plates, many years ago," so this man is reported to have
said, "and, though the sales of every succeeding year since have been
sufficient to cover the original cost, the number of plates has not
appreciably diminished."

When this larger venture failed, one of the publishers, who was not
satisfied with the surplusage of books and plates left on his hands,
is said to have placed encumbrances upon the Audubon estate. At
about this time John W. Audubon's health broke down; "Worn out," as
his daughter has said,[237] "in body and spirit, overburdened with
anxieties, saddened by the condition of his country, it is no matter of
surprise that my father could not throw off a heavy cold which attacked
him early in 1862." He died at the age of forty-nine, on the 18th of
February of that year.

John Woodhouse Audubon, like his brother, Victor, had inherited decided
artistic abilities, and from a youth had been his father's assistant,
field companion and friend. Victor Audubon, on the other hand, was
never a field collector, but aided his father more in a financial and
secretarial capacity. Both in adult life were fond of music and good
cheer, and at one time John was probably as devoted to adventure and
sport as his father had ever been in his palmiest days. One of his
youthful pranks is thus guardedly referred to by the senior Audubon
when writing at American Harbor, on the coast of Labrador, June 25,
1833:[238] "The young men, who are always ready for sport, caught a
hundred codfish in half an hour, and _somewhere_ secured three fine
salmon, one of which was sent to the 'Gulnare' with some cod." Whether
the fishermen at American Harbor, who had obstinately refused to sell,
ever missed those fine salmon from their pounds, is not recorded.
Another adventure has been related by Mr. Fraser,[239] whose family was
on intimate terms with the Audubons and MacGillivrays at Edinburgh,
when John Audubon, John MacGillivray (William MacGillivray's eldest
son), and himself were caught in the Ravelston woods while shooting
birds; the boys, he said "were rather roughly handled," but got off by
giving up their guns.

Under his father's tuition John Audubon became an observant and
self-reliant collector in the field, and an animal painter and
draughtsman of no mean powers. At twenty-one, as we have seen, he
accompanied his father's expedition to Labrador, was with him and
Harris in Florida and Texas in 1837, made successive visits to England,
and traveled again in Texas and in Mexico, all in the interests of his
father's works. He painted nearly one-half of the large plates of the
_Quadrupeds of North America_, besides reducing all the drawings for
the smaller editions of the _Birds_ and _Quadrupeds_, an enormous labor
in itself, representing the redrawing, with numerous alterations, of
655 elaborate octavo plates. After his return from California in 1850,
he began to bring out an account of his western travels, —projected
for ten monthly numbers, but this never advanced beyond the first
part.[240]

If not a "business man" by instinct or training, John Audubon
in emergencies could turn his hand to many things. For a time he
superintended the building of houses, including his own and Victor's,
which were completed in 1853, as well as another that was built on
the Audubon estate for Mr. Hall, a brother-in-law; he also took charge
of lighting the streets, and at another time was superintendent of a
quarry in Vermont. "He was a bluff, gruff, but friendly man," writes
George Bird Grinnell,[241] and was always willing to talk about
birds, mammals, or, indeed, any natural history object, to any boy
who asked him questions." On the other hand, an ardent sportsman,
who had lived with the family for years,[242] has described him as a
lovable companion, "genial in speech, full of anecdote, and a capital
conversationalist;... in person of more than median height, and of
commanding appearance, his face told plainly of the humanity of the
man; he was as tender-hearted as a girl, and his expressive voice could
command any key of which the vocal organs were capable; to the last he
retained the Southern habit of softly clipping the ends of words."

John Woodhouse Audubon will be remembered chiefly as his father's aid
and companion, although in his _Western Journal_,[243] written in his
thirty-eighth year but not published until forty-two years after his
death, he has left a record of which anyone could be rightfully proud.

Mrs. John James Audubon was very active in body and mind for a long
period after her husband's death, and in 1857, when in her seventieth
year, she returned in a degree to her old vocation of school teaching,
which had been so successfully followed in Ohio and Louisiana when her
husband was on the threshold of his extraordinary career. Her pupils
now consisted of some of her numerous grandchildren and a few others
drawn from the neighborhood; among the latter was the well known writer
and father of the original Audubon Society, George Bird Grinnell, who
pointed out to me the room in Victor Audubon's old house where his
revered and venerable teacher had gathered her little flock. "She loved
to read, to study, and to teach," said one who had known her, and "she
knew how to gain the attention of the young, and to fix knowledge in
their minds. 'If I can hold the mind of a child to a subject for five
minutes, he will never forget what I teach him,' she once remarked;
and, acting upon this principle, she was as successful, at three score
and ten years, in imparting knowledge, as she had been in early life
when she taught in Louisiana."

Mrs. Audubon's own house was rented and eventually sold. Meanwhile, it
seems, she lived for a number of years with the family of her eldest
son, and it was at Victor's house, as just noticed, that she started
a small school. Finally, in 1863, at the age of seventy-five, bereft
of children and fortune, she left the scenes of her once happy home,
then "Minnie's Land" no longer, and for a considerable period lived
with a granddaughter at Washington Heights, as that section on the
river, including Carmansville, came to be called, and a little later
at Manhattanville, a short distance below; there at the home of the
Reverend Charles Coffin Adams, who prepared the original draft of the
_Life_ of her husband, the history of which has been given,[244] she
passed a number of years after 1865.

In a letter written to a relative from "Washington Heights, N. Y., July
11, 1865," Mrs. Audubon spoke thus of the present, while memories, not
untinged with sorrow, filled the retrospect:

We have passed through a very cold winter which tried
both my Granddaughter ... and myself much. I have hoped
until I almost despair that [she] would have a short
Holiday so that we could go up to Hudson for a week
and see you all and mingle with those who sympathize
and care for us, but in a Boarding house, one seems
a stranger in the world, and as I pass my days alone
generally from breakfast till our dinner hour six
o'clock evening when [my granddaughter] comes home from
her music Pupils of whom she has now ten, and from that
time I am glad when she is invited out to refresh her
mind.

I seldom leave home but to go up to see my other Grand
Daughter Lucy Williams, but being sixteen miles off we
do not go there often....

I have heard from my Sister Gordon lately of Orleans,
she has her Son at home! but they are likely to lose
all their Property on account of Sister's Son having
been engaged in the Confederate War. It does seem to me
... as if we were a doomed family for all of us are in
pecuniary difficulty more or less. As to myself I find
it hard to look back patiently upon my great ignorance
of business and the want of a wise adviser who I now
find could have saved me half the property I have under
errour and ignorance sacrificed and have just enough
left to keep us but not enjoy life by any travelling
about in this beautiful World. I sat on Sunday night
after Church on the Piazza, contemplating the beautiful
Moon & its Creator, and I cannot yet say I wish to
leave it, notwithstanding all my disappointments and
mortifications. Excuse this long detail about myself. I
cannot help looking back as well as to the present and
future.

After Mrs. Audubon had passed her eightieth year she left New York and
again made her home in the West. In 1874, when with a granddaughter at
Louisville, she dictated and signed the following letter to a gentleman
who had asked for an autograph of her husband:

_Mrs. Audubon to William R. Dorlan_

LOUISVILLE _Jan. 30 1874_

MR. WM. R. DORLAN

DEAR SIR

I regret that your letter of Jan. 10th has remained
so long unanswered, but my granddaughter who usually
writes for me, is so constantly occupied with her pupils
that until to-day she has not been able to find time to
write to you. I regret that I cannot give you a letter
of my husband _John James Audubon_ with the autograph
attached.

The enclosed, the best I have to send you is one from
which the autograph and a portion of the letter were cut
off many years ago.

With many regrets that I cannot more fully grant your
request

I am dear Sir
Yours respectfully,

LUCY AUDUBON

Mrs. Audubon's closing days were spent at the home of her
sister-in-law, Mrs. William G. Bakewell, at Shelbyville, Kentucky,
where she died, with her mental faculties unimpaired, at the age of
eighty-six, June 13, 1874, having outlived this sister-in-law and
her younger sisters, Mrs. Alexander Gordon, of New Orleans, and Mrs.
Nicholas Augustus Berthoud, of St. Louis.

Not long after John W. Audubon's death, his family disposed of
their house on what had been the "Minnie's Land" estate, and lived
successively at Harlem, New Haven, Connecticut, and Salem, New York,
where Mrs. John W. Audubon died, and where her daughter, Maria Rebecca,
the biographer of her father and grandfather, with a sister, still
resides. Victor Audubon's family, with some of their kinsfolk, remained
at the Hudson River place, which was included in the section known as
"Audubon Park," until May, 1878, when they took a house in New York,
where Mrs. Victor Audubon died in 1882.

A brother of Mrs. Victor Audubon, Mr. E. Mallory, in writing to a
friend in Buffalo from "Audubon Park, August 31, 1874," said that it
was a source of deep regret to Mrs. John James Audubon that her last
years were not passed with them, under the shadow of her old home on
the Hudson; and he continued: "She was a kind and good friend, very
intelligent, and much beloved here; I remember her telling a young
lady, who asked her if she had read some fashionable novel, that
she had no time; 'at my age,' said she, 'I must make the most of my
time.' As she was a wide reader, it was a great trial when, in age,
her eyesight completely failed her. The minister who pronounced her
eulogy[245] said:

Many of you can recall that aged form and benignant
countenance, as she moved along these streets upon
errands of usefulness and benevolence, with benedictions
on her tongue, and smiles that were a blessing to all
who met her.

Madame Audubon interested herself in all that pertained
to the welfare of the neighborhood where she lived.
Although it was not without a pang that she saw her
sylvan home invaded by the growth of the city, and all
old associations broken up, she did not treat those who
came to live near her as strangers. She had a large
and generous heart, and with her husband had always
exercised a liberal hospitality and hearty kindness
towards all. In prosperity and adversity she was equally
sincere and humble, a friend of all worthy people....

Mrs. Audubon, during the period of her husband's greatest activity,
had traveled much and met people distinguished in every walk of life.
If, as some have thought, when Audubon was struggling for recognition,
he was somewhat oblivious of the privations which his wife endured, in
the sunshine of later years, when fame and fortune had smiled upon him,
he showed by every token of affection how fully he realized his debt.
Let it also be remembered that the monument by which Americans have
signalized their appreciation of his labors, is honored by the ashes of
his beloved Lucy, which rest by his side.

[Illustration: LUCY BAKEWELL AUDUBON

AFTER AN UNPUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN 1871. PUBLISHED BY
COURTESY OF MISS FLORENCE AUDUBON.]

[Illustration: LUCY BAKEWELL AUDUBON

AFTER A MINIATURE PAINTED BY FREDERICK CRUIKSHANK IN LONDON, ABOUT
1831. PUBLISHED BY COURTESY OF CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.]

The original drawings of the plates of _The Birds of America_ were
sold by Mrs. Audubon on June 2, 1863, to the Historical Society of New
York,[246] and a few of them are now displayed in its building in that
city; it is still hoped that a fire-proof and adequately lighted hall
can be constructed so that the whole of this great series of pictures
may be exhibited under more perfect conditions. The artistic beauty
and historical value of these drawings, with the added charm which
personal association has so richly supplied, would render Audubon's
"Book of Nature" one of the most unique and interesting exhibits in the
New World. The collection appears to be nearly complete, although some
notable pieces, such as the Wild Turkeys, are lacking, but there are
other drawings, and some of early date, which were never reproduced;
all are inclosed in the original portfolios, scarred by hard knocks
and the tooth of time, massive, leather-bound containers, which two
strong arms would raise with difficulty from the ground. Most of these
originals are mounted on a gray backing, with plate margins in each
case indicated by ink lines. As was noticed in an earlier chapter,
many original legends and notes written by Audubon's pencil or pen
still remain on the drawings, though many have been trimmed off or
erased; these include names of localities and dates, and directions to
the engraver for changes in the background and composition or for any
improvement of the whole or a part.

As a further illustration of the care which Audubon exercised over the
minute details of his great undertaking, we will reproduce the penciled
orders on the drawing of the Great White Heron (Plate cclxxxi), which
shows an adult male performing the gymnastic feat of seizing a large
striped fish, a view of Key West forming the background: "Keep closely
to the sky in depth & colouring! have the water a _Pea-green_ tint.
Keep the division of the scales on the leg in fact white in your
engraving—The colouring over these will subdue them enough! finish the
houses better from the original which you have; have the upper back
portion very mellowing in the outline." Again, on the drawing of the
Great Cinereous Owl (Plate cccli), we read: "Raise the bird about 4
inches on the copper—higher than in the Drawing, and put in a landscape
below of Wild Mountains," a direction which in this instance was not
followed, for the bird was eventually shown on a branch against the
sky.

In many instances towards the end of his work, Audubon furnished Havell
with drawings of the birds only, with directions to supply "an old
rotten stick" for perch, or to "amend this rascally sky and water"; as
we have already seen, he often depended upon him to combine several
detached pictures into one plate, but not always with happy results.
The following note was written on a drawing of the Carolina Parrot,
reproduced in a very striking plate (No. xxvi), in which seven gaudy
individuals of this nearly extinct species are represented feeding on a
favorite weed, the cockle-bur: "The upper specimen was shot near Bayou
Sarah, and appeared as very uncommon having 14 Tail feathers all very
distinct—uniformly affixed in 14 distinct receptacles that I drew it
more to exhibit one of those astonishing fits of nature than anything
else—it was a female.—The Green headed is also a Singular although not
so uncommon a variety as the above one. Louisiana—December (1821?) J.
J. Audubon." The upper bird, which is here referred to, is noticed in
his "Biography" of the species as "a kind of occasional variety."

On the drawing of the Swamp Sparrow (Plate lxiv), which was published
in 1829, Audubon wrote, evidently with the wish of having his wife's
name appear: "Drawn from Nature by Lucy Audubon, Mr. Havell will please
have Lucy Audubon name on this plate instead of mine...!"

Vandalism is always short-sighted, but seldom has its vision been more
myopic and sinister than in the case of the copper plates of _The Birds
of America_, most of which were sold for old metal and converted into
copper bars. Had they been preserved to this day, their value would
have been an hundred-fold greater than that of the few paltry tons of
metallic copper which they were supposed to represent. Mr. Ruthven
Deane, whose researches in the field of "Auduboniana" have added
greatly to this subject, has given a history of these plates,[247] and
of the interesting way in which a remnant came to be snatched, as it
were, from the very mouth of the furnace, through the persistence and
enthusiasm of a lad of fourteen. To follow this writer's account, it
seems that shortly after the death of her son John, Mrs. Audubon sold
the copper plates to a firm in New York, where they remained until
about 1865, stored in the warehouse of Messrs. Phelps, Dodge & Company.
Not far from that time the plates were sorted and a few were given
away; the large remainder was sent to a brass and copper company, of
which William E. Dodge was president, at Ansonia, Connecticut. How some
of these were fortunately rescued, in about the year 1873, is told in
a letter to Mr. Deane from Mr. Charles A. Cowles, of Ansonia:

At that time I was about fourteen years old. I was
beginning the study of taxidermy, and was naturally
deeply interested in birds. I happened to be at the
refinery watching the process of loading one of the
furnaces, and noticed on one of the sheets of copper
that a man was throwing into the furnace, what appeared
to me to be the picture of a bird's foot. I took the
plate from him, cleaned it with acid, and thereupon
discovered the engraving, or as I termed it, the
picture, of a bird (Plate cvi, Black Vulture), I made
an immediate but unsuccessful request to the foreman of
the furnace not to melt the plates; and then I appealed
to the superintendent, but without avail. I next brought
the matter to the general manager of the concern, my
father, from whom I received no encouragement. This
sort of treatment was evidently what I needed, for
I hastened back to the works in a state of mind so
determined that I succeeded in having all the plates,
that had not been melted, removed to a place of safety.
This occurred in the spring of that year; and the plates
remained undisturbed until the annual inventory was
taken the first of the following year. At that time the
disposition of the plates was taken up. I appealed to
my mother and interested her to such an extent that she
drove to the factory and looked at one of the plates.
She of course recognized that they were Audubon plates;
and instructions were given by my father to keep them
intact. The plates were subsequently submitted to a
treatment which removed all oxidation and then taken to
the main office of the company, and to the best of my
recollection, distributed as follows: Mr. Wm. E. Dodge,
president of the company, had a few plates sent to the
American Museum of Natural History, New York City, and a
few plates to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D. C., and I think he retained one or two for himself.
The remainder of them, with the exception of two, my
father kept; and they have since come into my possession
by purchase from the estate. The two plates just
excepted were Nos. xxii and lxxxii [Purple Martin and
Whippoorwill], and they particularly struck my fancy,
so much that when the plates were first discovered I
managed to secure them on the quiet, cleaned them myself
and hid them; and when the plates were distributed no
one knew of the existence of these two and they later
became my property.

It was thought possible that some of these plates had been sold in New
York City before the bulk of them were condemned as junk and sent to
Connecticut, but in 1898 Mr. Deane was able to give the designation
and resting place of only thirty-seven;[248] among these, however, were
the Wild Turkeys, Canada Goose, Great Northern Diver, Raven, American
Robin, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird, all among the finest of the
original 435.

Under the guidance of Mr. George Bird Grinnell, on April 6, 1916, I
paid a visit to "Audubon Park," now "Minnie's Land" no longer, where
country roads have given way to business streets and forests to subways
and skyscraper apartment houses. Notwithstanding the momentous changes
which the extension of upper New York City has effected both above
and below ground during the recent era of rapid transportation, the
old Audubon houses still remain, like boulders amid stream, the impact
of the city which has flowed around and beyond them being checked for
the moment by a rampart of solid masonry, the retaining wall of the
far-famed Riverside Drive, which rises above Audubon's old house close
to its rear veranda and there makes a wide turn. For Mr. Grinnell this
was a return to the scenes of his boyhood; the home of his father,
Mr. George Blake Grinnell, stood on the hill just above the Audubon
house, not far from the present "Riviera" building at One Hundred and
Fifty-Seventh Street; the Grinnell apartment house which towers aloft
close at hand stands in their old cow pasture, while their garden site
is marked by the present entrance to the subway station on Broadway.

The first part of Audubon's original tract to be sold was the easterly
section, extending from what is now the east side of Broadway to the
Bloomingdale Road, and between the present One Hundred and Fifty-sixth
and One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Streets; on that portion John
Woodhouse Audubon built a large frame structure which, for a number
of years, served as a boarding house for workmen employed in the sugar
refinery of Messrs. Plume & Lamont that stood on the river-bank, at the
foot of the present One Hundred and Sixtieth Street. Victor and John
W. Audubon also built three houses on the hill, one of which, between
One Hundred and Fifty-sixth and One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Streets,
was occupied by Mr. Grinnell; another, at one time the dwelling of
Henry A. Smythe, a former Collector of the Port of New York, was on
land now covered by the Numismatic Building, while a third, which was
occupied by Wellington Clapp, was on a part of the Archer M. Huntington
estate, south of One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Street, and stood a little
easterly of the present Riverside Drive; all of these houses have
disappeared. In September, 1842, the Corporation of Trinity Parish
acquired from Richard F. Carman, in Carmansville, the tract of land
later known as "Trinity Cemetery"; this extended from Bloomingdale Road
to the River, and between the present One Hundred and Fifty-third and
One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Streets.[249]

The original Audubon house, standing in the angle nearly opposite One
Hundred and Fifty-fifth Street, is all but concealed, except from the
river side, but may be approached by a lane which leads off from One
Hundred and Fifty-eighth Street. In 1913, when this old landmark was
in imminent danger of demolition, the Commissioner of Public Parks
made an eloquent plea for its preservation to the Audubon Societies
and to lovers of birds and nature everywhere. It was then suggested
that instead of permitting the historic structure to be destroyed,
the city should acquire it, float it up the Hudson River to Fort
Washington Park, and re-establish it there as a permanent memorial
to the naturalist; it was also noticed that the public interest was
enhanced by the fact that the father of telegraphy, Samuel F. B. Morse,
had worked upon his invention while Audubon's guest, and that the first
message to be received from Philadelphia came over a wire which entered
his room at the northwest corner of the building.

An early engraving[250] represents the naturalist's house essentially
as it appeared during his lifetime, surrounded by goodly forest trees
of oak and chestnut, but these, when standing at all, are now reduced
to gaunt and scarred remnants. A later print[251] shows the three
Audubon houses, the river, and between it and the lawn "that eye-sore
of a railroad,"[252] which was built not long after Audubon settled
upon his estate. The original house was sold before 1862,[253] and
about eight years later its new owner occupied it, after having given
it a mansard roof and made numerous changes which were sanctioned
by an era of bad taste. The naturalist's house overlooked the river
and commanded a grand view from its high veranda on the front, while
Victor's, which later adjoined it to the north, owing probably to
the encroachments of the railroad, was built to face the hill-slope
opposite; a top studio, at a corner of its roof, is an addition of a
later purchaser.[254]

Adjoining Victor's house on the north was that of his brother, John,
and on the east side of this was built the "Cave" and a barn since
converted into a dwelling; at one time the loft of this barn was piled
with boxes of bird skins and the surplus stock of the _Ornithological
Biography_, good copies of which now bring from $30 to $50.

The three houses which were built and occupied by the great nature
lover and his two sons, though in dire neglect, are not beyond repair;
if such a project were practicable, they should be converted into
a museum, and their walls once more ornamented with those beautiful
pictures of birds and beasts which father and sons united to create.
The triangle of ground between Riverside Drive and the Hudson River
should be spared by the proud city that for years was the home of
America's pioneer naturalist and animal painter, as well as the
scene of his youthful experiments in trade, and converted into a true
"Audubon Park." Such a memorial would contribute to the instruction and
pleasure of all the people, for every generation of Americans that is
to come.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS

1. Copy of the original bill rendered by Doctor Sanson, physician at
Les Cayes, Santo Domingo, to Jean Audubon, containing the only record
known to exist of the birth of his son, Jean Jacques Fougère Audubon
(see entry for April 26, 1785). Les Cayes, December 29, 1783-October
19, 1785; paid, June 7, 1787.

DOIT Mr. AUDUBON ngt. A SANSON

Chirurgien aux Cayes

SAVOIR
----
|
L

1783 Xbre " 29 " ipecacuanha pour un
nègre Bossal " 6 " "
" 31 " ipecacuanha pour un
nègre Bossal " 6 " "
1784 janvier " 3 " une medecine pour un
nègre Bossal " 6 " "
" 5 " une medecine pour un
nègre Bossal " 6 " "
" 7 " une medecine pour un
nègre Bossal " 6 " "
" 9 " une medecine pour un
Bossal " 6 " "
" 10 " une medecine pour un
Bossal " 6 " "
" 14 " une medecine pour le
mulâtre joue " 6 " "
" 26 " une medecine pour Mr
Audubon " 10 " "
mars " 27 " inoculé cezard 30 " inoculé
jupiter 30 inoculé
Rose 30 " " 90 " "

avril " 1 " apozême purgatif pour
joue mulâtre " 6 " "
" 3 " une medecine pour le
mulâtre joue " 6 " "
" 8 " apozême purgatif pour
le nègre Dominique " 6 " "
" 10 " une medecine pour
Dominique " 6 " "
" 15 " une medecine pour
Zemire " 6 " "
" 20 " une medecine pour Rose " 6 " "
" apozême purgatif pour
jupiter " 6 " "
" 21 " une medecine pour
Dominique " 6 " "
may " 2 " une medecine pour la
negresse therese " 6 " "
" 11 " pour soins, visites et
remedes pendant la
petite verole du mulâtre
joue " 66 " "
" 21 " Liqueur minerale
d'hoffman pour mlle.
Rabin " 6 " "
juin " 20 " inoculé un petit nègre
Bossal nommé joue " 30 " "
juillet " 20 " Remis a mr audubon le
compte du traitement
de la galle de
marianne et de sa
fille, tout acquité " 36 " "
7bre " 14 " apozême purgatif pour
le nègre jean maçon " 6 " "
" 16 " une medecine pour jean
maçon " 6 " "
" 21 " saigné au bras mr audubon " 3 " "
" 23 " eau de tamarinds
compee. pour mr Audubon " 10 " "
" 24 " une medecine en deux
Dozes pour mr audubon " 10 " "
8bre. " 22 " une medecine pour le
negrillon joue " 6 " "
" 23 " traité soigné et fourni
le medicament a joue
attaqué de piano " 132 " "
---------
L 513 " "

* * * * *

[_Page 2_]

Suite de l'autre part L 513 " "

8bre. " 25 " saigné au bras mlle.
Rabin " 3 " "
" 26 " Liqueur minerale
d'hoffman pour mlle.
Rabin " 6 " "
" 30 " une medecine pour le
negrillon joue " 6 " "
9bre " 15 " une medecine pour le
negrillon joue " 6 " "
Xbre " 8 " une medecine pour joue " 6 " "
1785 janvier " 18 " une medecine pour mr
audubon " 10 " "
" 21 " une medecine pour le
negrillon joue " 6 " "
fevrier " 15 " 2once. manne pour mlle.
Rabin " 3 " "
" 18 " une medecine pour le
tonneliere " 6 " "
mars " 6 " une medecine pour le
tonneliere " 6 " "
" 10 " une medecine pour le
tonneliere " 6 " "
" 11 " trois Dozes de kina
pour le tonneliere " 9 " "
" 12 " trois Dozes de kina
pour le tonneliere " 9 " "
" 13 " trois Dozes de kina
pour le tonneliere " 9 " "
" 14 " trois Dozes de kina
pour le tonneliere " 9 " "
avril " 2 " une visite de nuit pour
mlle Rabin " 10 " "
" 3 " une Lotion pour un
Erésipèle, que mlle.
Rabin a à la jambe. " 6 " "
" 5 " une Lotion pour mlle.
Rabin " 6 " "
" 7 " une Lotion pour mlle.
Rabin " 6 " "
" 8 " une medecine pour le
tonneliere " 6 " "
" 9 " trois Dozes de kina
pour le tonneliere " 9 " "
" 10 " trois Dozes de kina
pour le tonneliere " 9 " "
" 11 " trois Dozes de kina
pour le tonneliere " 9 " "
" 12 " trois Dozes de kina
pour le tonneliere " 9 " "
" 24 " Passé la nuit pres de
mlle. Rabin. en mal
d enfant " 66 " "
" 25 " Passé la nuit pres de
mlle. Rabin " 66 " "
" 26 " mlle. Rabin est
accouchée " ..." "
may " 2 " une visite de nuit et
Liqueur minerale
d'h.p.mlle. Rabin " 16 " "
" 3 " Liqueur minerale
d'hoffman p.mlle.
Rabin " 6 " "
" 4 " six Bouteilles d'eau
blanche pour les
cataplasmes nécessaires
au mal de sein
de mlle. Rabin " 18 " "
juin " 19 " ouvert un abcès au sein
de mlle. Rabin soins
et pour pansements " 36 " "
" 26 " une medecine pour
augustin negrillon " 6 " "
---------
L 897 " "

* * * * *

[_Page_ 3]

Suite de l'autre part L 897 " "

juin " 30 " une medecine pour
augustin L 6 " "
juillet " 1 " une medecine pour la
vielle jeanne " 6 " "
" 16 " une medecine pour
mlle. Rabin " 10 " "
aout " 15 " une medecine pour
mlle. Rabin " 10 " "
" eau blanche pour mr
audubon " 3 " "
" 20 " une medecine pour mr
aubinais commis " 10 " "
" 22 " une medecine pour mr
aubinais " 10 " "
" 24 " tinture de Rhubarbe
pour mr aubinais " 6 " "
" 26 " tinture de Rhubarbe
pour mr aubinais " 6 " "
7bre. " 23 " une bouteille vin
medicinal pour le
nègre enflé " 15 " "
" 27 " une medecine pour la
vielle jeanne " 6 " "
8bre " 7 " une medecine pour le
nègre enflé " 6 " "
" 11 " une medecine pour le
nègre enflé " 6 " "
" 16 " une medecine pour
thérése " 6 " "
" 19 " une medecine pour
therese " 6 " "
---------

acceptée apercu [?] Le 12 octob L 1009 " "
---------
1786
AUDUBON 330
---------

1339 " "
---------

Pour acquit aux cayes ce 7 juin 1787
——
—— SANSON

Recu de Mr
Sanson
7. Juin 1787.

1784 janvier traité mr ...
soins et fourni services 330 "

1a. Translation of the Sanson bill. (For comment, see Chapter IV.)

M. AUDUBON, merchant, to SANSON,
Physician at Cayes

Dr.
TO WIT
----
|
Francs

1783 December " 29 " Ipecacuanha for a negro
Bossal " 6 " "
" 31 " Ipecacuanha for a negro
Bossal " 6 " "
1784 January " 3 " A medicine for a negro
Bossal " 6 " "
" 5 " A medicine for a negro
Bossal " 6 " "
" 7 " A medicine for a negro
Bossal " 6 " "
" 9 " A medicine for a Bossal " 6 " "
" 10 " A medicine for a Bossal " 6 " "
" 14 " A medicine for the
mulatto Joue[255] " 16 " "
" 26 " A medicine for M. Audubon " 10 " "
March " 27 " Inoculated Cæsar, 30f;
inoculated Jupiter,
30f; inoculated Rose,
30f " 90 " "
April " 1 " Purgative decoction for
Joue, [the] mulatto " 6 " "
" 3 " A medicine for the
mulatto, Joue " 6 " "
" 8 " Purgative decoction for
the negro Dominique " 6 " "
" 10 " A medicine for
Dominique " 6 " "
" 15 " A medicine for Zemire " 6 " "
" 20 " A medicine for Rose " 6 " "
" Purgative decoction for
Jupiter " 6 " "
" 21 " A medicine for Dominique " 6 " "
May " 2 " A medicine for the
negress Theresa " 6 " "
" 11 " For attentions, visits,
and remedies during
the smallpox of the
mulatto Joue " 66 " "
" 21 " Hoffman's mineral water
for Mlle. Rabin " 6 " "
June " 20 " Inoculated a little negro
Bossal named Joue " 30 " "
July " 20 " Account rendered to M.
Audubon for treatment
of the _gale_[256]
in Marian and her
daughter, all receipted " 36 " "
September " 14 " Purgative decoction for
the negro, John Mason
[or John, mason(?)] " 6 " "
" 16 " A medicine for John
Mason " 6 " "
" 21 " Bled M. Audubon at
the arm " 3 " "
" 23 " Tamarind water compound
for M. Audubon " 10 " "
" 24 " A medicine in two doses
for M. Audubon " 10 " "
October " 22 " A medicine for the little
negro Joue " 6 " "
" 23 " Treated, attended, and
furnished remedies
for Joue attacked by
the _pian_[257] " 132 " "
---------
L 513 " "

* * * * *

[_Page 2_]

Brought forward from
other part L 513 " "
October " 25 " Bled Mlle. Rabin at
the arm " 3 " "
" 26 " Hoffman's mineral water
for Mlle. Rabin " 6 " "
" 30 " A medicine for the little
negro Joue " 6 " "
November " 15 " A medicine for the little
negro Joue " 6 " "
December " 8 " A medicine for Joue " 6 " "
1785 January " 18 " A medicine for M. Audubon " 10 " "
" 21 " A medicine for the little
negro Joue " 6 " "
February " 15 " Two ounces of manna
for Mlle. Rabin " 3 " "
" 18 " A medicine for the
cooper " 6 " "
March " 6 " A medicine for the
cooper " 6 " "
" 10 " A medicine for the
cooper " 6 " "
" 11 " Three doses of kino[258]
for the cooper " 9 " "
" 12 " Three doses of kino for
the cooper " 9 " "
" 13 " Three doses of kino for
the cooper " 9 " "
" 14 " Three doses of kino for
the cooper " 9 " "
April " 2 " A night visit for Mlle.
Rabin " 10 " "
" 3 " A lotion for an erysipelas
which Mlle.
Rabin has on the leg " 6 " "
" 5 " A lotion for Mlle.
Rabin " 6 " "
" 7 " A lotion for Mlle.
Rabin " 6 " "
" 8 " A medicine for the
cooper " 6 " "
" 9 " Three doses of kino for
the cooper " 9 " "
" 10 " Three doses of kino for
the cooper " 9 " "
" 11 " Three doses of kino for
the cooper " 9 " "
" 12 " Three doses of kino for
the cooper " 9 " "
" 24 " Passed the night with
Mlle. Rabin [who
was] in child-birth " 66 " "
" 25 " Passed the night with
Mlle. Rabin " 66 " "
" 26 " Mlle. Rabin is delivered " .. " "
May " 2 " A night visit and
Hoffman's mineral
water for Mlle. Rabin " 16 " "
" 3 " Hoffman's mineral water
for Mlle. Rabin " 6 " "
" 4 " Six bottles of _eau
blanche_ for
poultices needed in
an affection of the
breast of Mlle. Rabin " 18 " "
June " 19 " Opened an abscess in
the breast of Mlle.
Rabin; for attentions
and dressings " 36 " "
" 26 " A medicine for the little
negro Augustine " 6 " "
---------

L 897 " "
---------

* * * * *

[_Page_ 3]

Brought forward from
the other part L 897 " "
June " 30 " A medicine for Augustine " 6 " "
July " 1 " A medicine for old Jane " 6 " "
" 16 " A medicine for Mlle.
Rabin " 10 " "
August " 15 " A medicine for Mlle.
Rabin " 10 " "
" Eau blanche for M.
Audubon " 3 " "
" 20 " A medicine for M.
Aubinais, clerk " 10 " "
" 22 " A medicine for M.
Aubinais " 10 " "
" 24 " Tincture of rhubarb
for M. Aubinais " 6 " "
" 26 " Tincture of rhubarb
for M. Aubinais " 6 " "
September " 23 " A bottle of medicinal
wine for a swollen
negro " 15 " "
" 27 " A medicine for old Jane " 6 " "
October " 7 " A medicine for the
swollen negro " 6 " "
" 11 " A medicine for the
swollen negro " 6 " "
" 16 " A medicine for Theresa " 6 " "
" 19 " A medicine for Theresa " 6 " "
---------

Accepted viséd [?] October 12 L 1009 " "
---------
1786
AUDUBON 330
---------

1339 " "
---------

Paid at Les Cayes this 7th June, 1787
——
—— SANSON

M. Sanson's receipt
June 7, 1787.

1784 January Treated
M.... For care and
services rendered 330 "

2. Copy of the Act of Adoption of Fougère (John James Audubon) and
Muguet (Rosa Audubon). Nantes, March 7, 1794. (For translation, see
Chapter IV.)

Extrait des registres des naissances des sections de la Halle
et de Jean-Jacques de la commune de Nantes, département de la
Loire-Inférieure, le 17 Ventose, an 2 de la République, une et
indivisible, 10 heures du matin.

Devant moi Joseph Theulier, officier public élu pour constater
l'état-civil des citoyens, ont comparu en la maison commune Jean
Audubon, commandant la corvette "le Cerbère," bâtiment de la
République, âgé de 49 ans, natif des Sables-d'Olonne, département
de la Vendée et Anne Moinet son épouse, agée de 58 ans, native de
la ci-devant paroisse de Saint-Léonard, de cette commune, lesquels
assistés de René Toussaint Julien Beuscher, fabricant, âgé de 25 ans
demeurant section de la Halle rue Rubens et de Julien Pierre Beuscher,
chirurgien marin, âgé de 24 ans, demeurant section de la Fraternité,
rue du Marchix, et employé par continuation sur la dite corvette le
Cerbère, m'ont déclaré adopter et reconnaître dès ce moment comme leurs
propres enfants savoir:

Un enfant mâle nommé Fougère, issu depuis le mariage d'eux comparant
contrôlé le 24 Août 1772 dans la commune de Paimboeuf en ce département
de lui Jean Audubon avec une habitante de l'Amérique morte il y a
environ huit ans et une enfant femelle nommée Muguet issue aussi
depuis le mariage sus dit de lui Jean Audubon d'une autre habitant de
l'Amérique nommée Catherine Bouffard dont il ignore le sort.

Les deux enfants ci-présents, âgés le premier de 9 ans qui échoieront
le 3 Floréal prochain, le second de 7 ans que échoieront aussi au 7
Floréal prochain tous deux nés en Amérique d'après cette déclaration
que les témoins ci-dessus ont certifié véritable, j'ai rédigé le
présent acte que le père naturel et la mère adoptive ainsi que leurs
témoins ont signé avec moi les dits jour et an.

Signé au registre: AUDUBON
CITOYENNE ANNE MOINET
JEAN AUDUBON, BEUSCHER & BEUSCHER JEUNE.

3. Copy of the Act of Baptism of Jean Jacques Fougère Audubon. Nantes,
October 23, 1800. (For translation, see Chapter IV.)

Premier brumaire, an neuvième.

Nous soussignés certifions avoir baptisé ce jour, premier brumaire,
an 9 de la République, Jean Jacques Fougère Audubon fils adoptif de
Jean Audubon lieutenant de vaisseau de la République et d'Anne Moinet
sa légitime épouse, présents et certifiant l'adoption qu'ils ont fait
du dit Fougère ainsi et de la même manière qu'il est porté dans l'acte
ci-dessus.

Signé: TARDIVEAU, prêtre de Saint-Similien
de la Ville de Nantes.

4. Copy of a bill of sale of Negroes rendered by Monsieur Ollivier to
Monsieur Audubon. Les Cayes, Santo Domingo, 1785.

1785.—M. Audubon doit à Ollivier ce qui suit:

Juillet pour 4 négresses à 1750 7.000
— — 1 " 1750 1.750
— — 1 négresse borgne 1.600
— — 1 négritte 1.200
------
11.590

Pour acquit en compte et billet à mon ordre sous la réserve d'une
augmentation de cent livres sur la négritte si elle vit an delà de six
mois.

Aux Cayes, le 25 Juillet 1785.
Signé: OLLIVIER.

5. Statement of Accounts of Messrs. Audubon, Lacroix, Formon, & Jacques
in the purchase of negroes from M. Th. Johnston, Les Cayes, Santo
Domingo, 1785. (For comment, see Chapter III.)

Compte de vente frais et net produit de quarante nègres achetés de
Monsieur Th. JOHNSTON, de compte à demi entre MM. AUDUBON LACROIX
FORMON & JACQUES, pour prix la somme de soixante mille livres, payée au
dit sieurs la dite somme comme suit:

Par Monsieur Audubon 20.000}
Par Lacroix Formon & Jacques 40.000}
60.000

1785 Vendu par Monsieur AUDUBON, dont il se charge:

Février 11 1 à. Reynaud Chateaudun f 1650
— 12 1 — Garreau 2100
— 12 3 — Bourseret 6000
— 12 1 — Lui-même 1500
— 14 2 — Cossard 3564
— 15 1 — Lenoir 1782
— 18 1 — Blanchet 1782
— 19 3 — Jacques Bourry 6000
Mars 24 3 — Bouffard 4950
— 24 1 — Lui-même 1500
— 24 1 — Ch. Gettée 1800
— 24 1 — Bouffard 1650
--- ----
19 têtes 34.278

Vendu par Lacroix Formon & Jacques dont il se charge:

Février 12 3 à. Bourseret 6000
— 12 1 — Menard 2000
— 12 2 — Reynaud fils 3780
— 13 2 — Peridigon 3800
— 13 3 — Maillet Lacoste 5700
— 15 1 — Dugay 1712
— 19 3 — Jacques Bourry 6000
— 19 1 — Lui-même 1782
— 19 1 — Eux-mêmes 1500
— 19 1 — Begon M. 1700
— 19 2 — Millet 3300
Mars 2 A. 1 de mort chez Villeneuve chirurgien
pour mémoire...; 37.274
----
f 71.552

Frais à deduire payés par Lacroix Formon & Jacques

Pour 80 régimes de bannanes 15 60}
— 8 têtes de boeuf 3 24}
Payé à Villeneuve chirurgien }
pour le traitement du nègre mort 99} 183
--} ---
Net produit: f 71.369

La demi de Monsieur Audubon 35.684.10
Il a reçu en les reprises dont il
se charge: 34.278."
——
Il lui est dû pour Lacroix Formon & Jacques 1.406.10

Clos et arrêté le présent compte en double par lequel il résulte que
M. Audubon doit à Lacroix Formon & Jacques dix mille livres pour sa
demi du payement des dits nègres dont il les débite au compte courant
arrêté ce jour en double, et les dits Lacroix Formon & Jacques devant
au dit Sieur Audubon celle de cent six livres dix pour sa demi qui lui
revient du net produit de la vente des dits nègres, lesquels portés au
crédit des deux comptes courant, dont quitté aux Cayes, le plus porté
au crédit de M. Audubon la somme de dix sept cent quatre-vingt deux
livres pour la demi du billet du sieur Collard qui nous reste aux Cayes
le 16 Septembre 1785.

Pour MM. Lacroix Formon & Jacques
Signé: CLERC

Nous avons reçu de M. Audubon la somme de trente mille livres pour la
portion d'achat des dits nègres au-dessus.

Aux Cayes, le 16 Septembre 1785.
Pour MM. Lacroix Formon & Jacques
Signé: CLERC.

6. Copy of bill of sale of Negroes to Monsieur Audubon, and a statement
of his account with Messrs. Lucas Brothers & Constant. Les Cayes, Santo
Domingo, August 7, 1785-June 9, 1788. (For comment, see Chapter III.)

Nous soussignés déclarons avoir vendu et livré à Monsieur Audubon,
négociant de cette ville les nègres ci-après, nation Hibo et Canga....

Savoir:

1 nommé Autron Etampé Lucas
1 — Jupiter — —
1 — Antoine — —
1 — Pitre — —
1 — Thehimaque — —
1 — Jeanpierre — —
1 — Magloire — Jh. Lucas
1 — Lagrilade — —
1 — Patté — —
1 — Parisse — —

—.Négresses.—
1 nommée Françoise — —
1 — Lucie — —
1 — Julie — —
--
13 Ensemble treize nègres ou négresses à deux mille livres
chaque formant la somme de vingt six mille livres sur laquelle
somme nous avons reçu vingt-quatre mille livres comme suit:

16.000 en un mandat en sucre sur MM. Lacroix Formon
& Jacques.

7.100—17—8 en un billet de Formon Plumardière.
889—24 en son billet.
------
24.000 pour payement et à compte des treize nègres
ci-dessus détaillés, dans le nombre desquels le nommé Patté pour
engagement de le livrer à M. Audubon dès qu'il sera en état
de se rendre aux Cayes. Le dit sieur Audubon se réservant
vue dessus quand nous lui en ferons la remise pour le prix
de la somme de deux mille livres en argent comptant et moi
Audubon accepte le dit marché et déclare avoir reçu livraison
des douze têtes de nègres ou négresses que j'ai bien vus et visités
et desquels je suis satisfait, aux Cayes, le 7 Août 1785.

Signé: AUDUBON—LUCAS FRÈRES.

Nous avons reçu à compte de M. Audubon 162
660
----
882

Pour acquit porté en debit de notre compte courant arrêté
ce jour, au Fond, le 9 Juin 1788.

LUCAS FRÈRES & CONSTANT.

7. Accounts of William Bakewell, of "Fatland Ford," as protégé of his
future son-in-law and as attorney or agent for Audubon & Rosier, giving
certain exact indications of the naturalist's movements and personal
relations, before and after finally leaving "Mill Grove." January 4,
1805-April 9, 1810. (For further reference, see Chapter VIII.)

Messrs Audubon & Rozier in a/c with Wm Bakewell Cr

_1805_ _1805_
Jan 4 Cash for sundries 11.25 March 18 Cash 5
12 do 1
18 Brother 150

_1807_ _1807_
Apl 22 Cash Mr Rozier 66 Apl 1 Cash of Miller 150
Advertists in Philada & do of Jackson 50
Norristown 7
Cash pd M Fisher 40
do paid Vendreman 3

_1808_ _1808_
Adv.ts & hand bills 3.75 Jan 8 do of Longacre 50
Cash Mr Pears 14.50 Jan 8 do of Longacre 50
May 3 Exps of Horses to Philada 4.76 Apl 2 do of Longacre 50
20 Sundries 18.50 do 25 d 100
June 8 Cash 3.18 May 12 do formon 31.84
17 Smith's work 5.00 Dec 20 Cash of Longacre 30
Advertiset 1
Oct 10 Exchange of Horse 10
Keep of Horses 23 weeks 42.50
Decr 31 Cash pd Mr Pears 18.92

_1809_
Advertisets & Vendue Exps 12.82 Apl 18 Clennell 20
25 Bills payable to W. Apl 18 Clennell 20
Thomas 607.10 Sept 30 Kymar 22
Cash pd Mr Page for Nov 6 d 22.50
powr of Attorney 1.37 Dec 23 do 10
13 Paid Attachment fees 9.28
Cash paid for tax 2.91 _1810
25 mortes [?] & half taxes 7 Feb 13 do of Miller 20
------ Balle of
Commission 7998 a 1½ per Cent 119.97 Neckland 237.32
------ Apl 3 Miller 8
Jany 23 omitted Exps at Vendue 3.77 9 do 6.12½
------ ---------
$1176.91 $1159.22½

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. This record proves that Audubon
upon his first return to France from the United States,
must have left "Mill Grove" on the 12th of January,
1805, or not more than a day later; three days were
required to walk to New York, which could not have
been reached later than the 15th, and probably as many
more were needed for a letter to go to "Fatland Ford."
He probably sailed for Nantes shortly before January
18, the day when William Bakewell recorded that he
had sent his "brother," Benjamin Bakewell, commission
merchant in New York, $150; this was undoubtedly in
payment of the loan which the brother in New York had
made to young Audubon for his passage to France. The
next item, of April 22, 1807, was for money advanced to
Ferdinand Rozier, probably when he was acting as clerk
to Laurence Huron, in Philadelphia; "advertisements in
Philadelphia and Norristown" possibly had reference to
the lease and final sale of "Mill Grove" of the year
before. Miers Fisher was the Quaker merchant, who for
many years served as Lieutenant Audubon's American agent
and attorney, and who was later the adviser of his son
and Ferdinand Rozier. Thomas W. Pears, a relative by
marriage of the Bakewells, was with Audubon in Benjamin
Bakewell's office in New York, and afterwards associated
with him and Thomas W. Bakewell in their disastrous mill
experiment at Henderson, Kentucky. The bill of William
Thomas, former Quaker tenant of "Mill Grove," was
possibly in liquidation of his claim against Lieutenant
Audubon and Dacosta in their mining operations at this
farm (see the letters to Dacosta, Vol. I, p. 117). The
credit entry under May 12, 1808, "formon—31.84," may
represent interest collected on an unsettled claim
of Lieutenant Audubon against Mr. Formon, a former
partner in Santo Domingo, in relation to the sale of
the ships, the _Count of Artois_ and the _Annette_ (see
Chapter II, p. 33). Dacosta had been urged to apply to
Mr. Formon's son-in-law, who appears to have lived at
Philadelphia, but was unable to obtain anything from the
Formon estate. The "Cash of Dacosta 299.44" possibly
represented interest on the mortgage which we have
assumed was given to Audubon and Rozier when Dacosta and
his mining company came into possession of "Mill Grove,"
September 15, 1806 (see Chapter XI, p. 148).

8. Concerning a Power of Attorney issued by Lieutenant Audubon and Anne
Moynet Audubon to Ferdinand Rosier and John Audubon, the Younger, at
Couëron, France, in 1805; parts in French translated by a Philadelphia
notary; signatures of original document authenticated by the Mayor of
Couëron, October 21, 1805; his attest of the legality of Anne Moynet
Audubon's signature, at Couëron, October 27, 1805; authentication of
the signature of the Mayor of Couëron by the Subprefect's of Savenay,
November 27, 1805; attest of the Subprefect's signature by the Prefect.
(Remainder of document missing.)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ss:

I, Peter Stephan Du Ponceau, notary public & Sworn Interpreter of
foreign Languages for the Commonwealth aforesaid, residing in the City
of Philadelphia, do hereby certify that I have carefully translated
into English so much of the Instrument of writing hereunto annexed as
is written in the French language, as follows, to wit:

At the bottom of the Deed [act] and immediately after the Signatures of
the Witnesses, there is a Certificate in France [French], which being
translated, is as follows:

Seen by us, the Mayor of the commune of Coueron, who
attest the above Signatures of G. Loyen, assistant
mayor, C. D'orbigny, Doctor of medicine, Audubon, & Anne
Moynet Audubon, to which full faith and credit is to be
given, whereever it may be necessary—Done in our Office
at Coueron, the thirtieth of vendemiaire fourteenth year
of the French Empire [_sic_].

G. VALLIN, mayor.

[Mayor's seal]

And on the back of the said Deed [Act] is written in French what
follows.

We, Germain Vallin, Mayor of the commune of Coueron
in the Department of Lower Loire in the French Empire,
certify to all whom it may concern, that on this day,
personally appeared before me John Audubon and Anne
Moynette, his wife, both now residing in this said
commune, and represented to us, That in order to give
its full force & effect to the Instrument written on the
other side hereof, in the English language, which they
have declared to be a letter of attorney in favor of
Messieurs Ferdinand Rozier, & John Audubon, junior for
the purposes therein mentioned, it was necessary that
the said Instrument be by them acknowledged before us,
according to the forms prescribed by the Laws of the
State of Pennsylvania, and that the said Anne Moynette
Audubon should be examined by us separate from her
said husband, in order to declare that she has signed
and executed the said Deed [Act] of her own free will
and accord, and without being compelled thereto by her
husband; That this formality is rigorously required by
the Laws of the State of Pennsylvania, and no other act,
not even a notarial Instrument, can in any manner Supply
the same.

In consideration thereof, we have received the
acknowledgment which the said appearers have made before
us, by which they have declared and acknowledged that
the said Instrument, written in the English Language
on the other sides hereof is their own Act and Deed,
and that they desire that it may be recorded as such,
whenever it may be necessary.

And the said John Audubon having withdrawn, we have
examined the said Anne Moynette Audubon separately and
apart from her said husband, and She declared to us,
That She knows & perfectly understands the contents of
the said Deed [Act], and that She has Signed, Sealed,
and declared [delivered] the same, of her own free
will and accord, without being compelled thereto by her
said husband, either by threats or by any other means
of compulsion whatever. In faith whereof, we the Mayor
aforesaid, have Signed the present Certificate, and
have caused the Seal of this mayoralty to be thereunto
affixed—Given at Couëron the thirtieth of vendemiaire
fourteenth year of the French Empire [_sic_]

G. VALLIN.

[Seal of the mayoralty
of Couëron.]

(Afterwards is written also in the French Language, as follows:)

I have seen the above and attest the Signature of G.
Vallin, mayor of the commune of Couëron, above and on
the other side affixed.

Done in the Subprefect's office, at Savenay, the fifth
Brumaire fourteenth year.

The Subprefect of the first District.
MAGONET TREMELOTRIE

[Seal of the District
of Savenay]

I attest the above Signature of Magonet Tremelotrie.—

Nantz, the 7th. Frimaire 14th. year

The Prefect
BELLEVILLE
which [remainder
wanting.]

9. Articles of Association of Jean Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier to
govern their partnership in business; drawn up at Nantes, March 23,
1806. (See Chapter IX.)

[stamp]
REP. FRA.
50 cen

Entre nous soussignés Ferdinand Rozier et Jean Audubon, nous proposant
de passer aux états Unis sommes Convenus de former une société de
Commerce aux Conditions Suivantes.

Article Premier.

La société sera régie sous les noms Collectifs de Ferdinand Rozier et
Jean Audubon et chacun de nous aura la Signature pour toute affaire de
notre Commerce seulement.

Art. 2.

a Notre arrivée nous prendrons possession de La terre de Mill-Grove,
et nous ferons rendre Compte a Mr. Dacosta qui a la procuration d
Mr. Audubon pére. nous nous occuperons des moyens de faire valoir cet
établissement ou prendre Connoissance de La mine de Plomb Découverte,
et avant d'y continuer les travaux Commencés, nous Examinerons si les
dépenses faites par le Sr. Dacosta ont été et peuvent nous etre utiles.
enfin nous fairons où fairons faire des devis Estimatifs des frais et
des produits qui peuvent en résulter. et nous n'entreprendrons rien
que nous ne soyons tous deux parfaitement d'accord sur le principe
en Conséquence nous signerons l'un et l'autre le projet que nous en
arrêterons afin que l'un de nous ne s'en écarte, et il en sera de meme
pour toute les nouvelles Dépences qui changeraient les profits arrêtes.

Art. 3.

Il est convenu que la Moitié du produit de cette habitation seront
entre nous par Moitié et pour en Connoitre ainsi que la perte, nous
aurons un Livre particulier pour cet Objet, d'un Coté seront Inséres
les articles de dépences par Jour, et au moment que nous en fairons,
de l'autre Coté les ventes et Produits des fermes et de tout ce qui
pourra résulter de cette Opération en sorte que le Bénéfice se verra
tous les jours par l'addition des articles qui Composeront le débit et
le Crédit.

Art. 4.

La Maison cy dessus sera un objet distinct. de tout Commerce afin
de pouvoir régler cette propriété tant et tant de fois que Nous le
désirerons. il est même Convenu que joindrons aux frais de cette
Exploitation ceux nécessaires pour la vie et autres dépences communes
tant qu'il nous Conviendra de vivre et d'habiter ensemble.

Art. 5.

Il ne peut nous etre interdit de faire tout autre Commerce, mais avant
d'en entreprendre nous resterons six mois a prendre des Informations
aux pays de ce qui pourroit nous etre avantageux, alors nous nous
livrerions à quelque opération de commerce ou Intérieur ou Maritime.

Art. 6.

Nous pourrons l'un et l'autre faire quelque voyage a l'effet de nous
procurer des Connoissances, et s'il arrivait que nous decidions quelque
Négociants a envoyer des Marchandises à la vente ou à la Consignation
de Mr. Rozier pére nous fairions la Condition que le Bénéfice qui
resulteroit de ces Consignations seroit partages entre nous et le Sur.
F. Rozier pere.

Art. 7.

Tous les bénéfices comme les pertes résultant de nos Opérations
Commerciales seront partagées Egalement entre les associes.

Art. 8.

Les frais de Passage et autre communs entre nous fairont le premier
article de nos dépences sociales....

Art. 9.

Nous nous promettons l'un et l'autre amitié et Intelligence, et
convenons très expressement qua la moindre difficulté, nous prendrons
chacun un arbitre qui sera authorisé a se choisir un troisieme et nous
engageons sur notre honneur a en passer par tout ce qui sera décidé,
sans que jamais nous puissions en faire appel devant aucuns tribunaux.

Art. 10.

En cas de mort de l'un ou l'autre (ce qu'a Dieu ne plaise) le survivant
sera seul charge de la Liquidation pour en tenir Compte à qui de droit,
c'est a dire aux héritiers du Déffunt, mais la societé ne pourra etre
dissoute que neuf années à Compter du Jour de la Datte du présent. ce
Cas seulement arrivant, il sera alloué au survivant une Commission sur
les produits de l'Etablissement fixe à Dix pour Cent.

Fait double et de bonne foy entre nous.
Nantes ce 23 Mars 1806.

JEAN AUDUBON
FERDINAND ROZIER

9a. _Translation of the Articles of Association of John Audubon and
Ferdinand Rozier._

[stamp]
REP. FRA.
50 cen

We, the undersigned, Ferdinand Rozier and John Audubon, who are
intending to go to the United States, are agreed to form a partnership
in business upon the following conditions:

Article First.

The partnership will be administered under the joint names of Ferdinand
Rozier and John Audubon, and each of us will have the power of
signature for all matters of our business only.

Art. 2.

Upon our arrival we will take possession of the farm of Mill-Grove,
and we will call to account Mr. Dacosta, who has the power of
attorney of Mr. Audubon, Senior. We shall take measures to improve the
establishment, or make an investigation of the lead mine discovered
[on the property], and before continuing the work already begun we will
ascertain whether the expenditures made by Sr. Dacosta, have been, and
can still be, advantageous to us. Finally we shall prepare, or attempt
to prepare, estimates of the expenses and the products which accrue
from these, and we shall undertake nothing upon which we are not both
perfectly agreed in principle; consequently we shall both subscribe
to the project which we shall decide upon, in order that neither of us
may depart from it, and it will be the same for all new expenses which
might alter the plans that are reached.

Art. 3.

It is agreed that half the product of this plantation shall be
divided between us on a one half basis, and in order to recognize this
[profit], as well as the loss, we shall keep a special book for the
purpose; on one side shall be entered the items of expense, day by
day, and, at the moment this is done, on the other side [shall also be
given] the sales and products of the farms, and of all that can result
from this business, in such a way that the profit shall be always
apparent by the addition of the items which compose the debit and the
credit.

Art. 4.

The house above mentioned [Mill-Grove farmhouse] shall be an object
separate from all business, in order that we may settle matters as
completely as we desire. It is agreed that we shall add to the expenses
of this exploitation, those necessary for life, and others of a common
character, so long as it shall suit us to live and dwell together.

Art. 5.

We cannot be prevented from engaging in any other kind of business, but
before undertaking it we shall remain six months in order to gather
from the country information of a kind that would be advantageous
to us; we shall then apply ourselves to some commercial occupation,
whether inland or maritime.

Art. 6.

We are both at liberty to make any journey in order to procure
information, and should it happen that we persuade any merchants to
send goods to Mr. Rozier, Senior, we would establish the condition that
the benefit which might result from these consignments would be divided
between us and the Mr. F. Rozier, Senior.

Art. 7.

All the benefits as well as the losses resulting from our commercial
transactions shall be divided equally between the partners.

Art. 8.

The expenses of the journey and others of a common nature shall make
the first item of our social expenses....

Art. 9.

We both resolve to maintain friendship and mutual understanding, and
we agree very expressly that, upon the least difficulty, we shall each
select one arbitrator, who will be authorized to choose a third, and
we promise upon our honor to fully accept the decision that shall be
reached, without ever having it in our power to make an appeal from it
before any courts.

Art. 10.

In case of the death of one or the other (which, God forbid), the
survivor shall have sole charge of making a settlement, in order to
give an accounting to those entitled to it by law, that is to say to
the heirs of the deceased, but the partnership cannot be dissolved
until after nine years, counting from the day of the date of the
present [instrument]. Only in this event, the survivor will be allowed
a commission upon the products of the establishment fixed at ten per
cent.

Done in duplicate and in good faith between us.
Nantes this _23 March 1806_.

JOHN AUDUBON
FERDINAND ROZIER

10. Power of Attorney issued by Lieutenant Jean Audubon, Anne Moynet
Audubon, and Claude François Rozier to their respective sons, Jean
Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier, at Nantes, France, April 4, 1806,
eight days before the latter embarked to America to enter upon their
partnership in business.

[stamp]
REP. FRA.
75 cen

Par devant Royer et Son Collégue, notaires à la résidence de Nantes,
département de la Loire-inférieure soussignés,——————ont comparu le
Sieur Jean Audubon, rentier, et dame Anne Moinet, son épouse qu'il
autorise, demeurants rue Rubens, No. 39, et monsieur Claude-françois
Rozier, négociant, rue de la fosse, tous trois commune de nantes,
Les quels constituent pour leurs Procureurs généraux et spéciaux
Jean Audubon, fils, et ferdinand Rozier, fils, aux quels, l'un en
l'absence de l'autre, ils donnent pouvoir et procuration de faire,
pour et au mieux de l'intérêt de Constituants, tous réglements de
comptes, éligements de crédits, recovrements, payements, et autres
actes analogues avec tous fermiers, correspondants, débiteurs et
créanciers des Constituants aux Etats-unis d'Amérique; plaider,
constituer, transiger, recevoir, donner quittances, renouveler,
prendre termes, expedier et géréralement faire pour leur utilité,
tout ce qui leur semblera le plus convenable; le tout, d'après les
renseignements, pieces et documents relatifs, qui leur ont été, leur
sont ou leur seront fournis tant par les constituants que par autres
leurs précédents chargés d'affaires et fondés de pouvoirs aux dits
Etats-unis de régir, gérer et administrer la moitié appartenante aux
constituants de la terre de Mill Grove en Pensylvania même d'exploiter
ou faire exploiter la mine de plomb récemment découverte sur la
dite terre: consulter dans tous les cas importants, monsieur Miers
fisher,—négociant à Philadelphie, comme ami commun et bon conseil;
tenir tous livres et registres nécessaires, faire à la fin de chaque
année ou plutôt, la balance de la recette et dépense pour la régie
de la dite terre et l'exploitation de la mine, s'il y a lieu; vendre
aux prix, charges, clauses et conditions dont il conviendront, mais
d'accord avec monsieur Dacosta, propriétaire de l'autre moitié, la
moitié de la dite terre de Mill grove, appartenante aux constituants,
en toucher le prix, en donner quittances, faire tous partages, accepter
tout lot et généralement faire pour l'intérêt des constituants tous
actes conservatoires et definitifs en tous tribunaux, devant toutes
administrations et officiers publics, qui leur paraitront nécessaires
ou utiles; à l'effet de quoi, tous pouvoirs analogues exprimés ou non
exprimés pour tous cas prévus ou imprévus, même de substituer en tout
ou partie des dits pourvoirs, qui bon leur semblera et de le revoquer,
leur sont donnés par la présente procuration qui ne sera pas sujette à
surannation.——

fait et passé en l'étude et au rapport de Royer, l'un de nous, sous les
seings des comparants, après lecture, ce jour trois avril mil-huit-cent
six. la minute est signée des parties et des Notaires soussignés; elle
est restée à Royer, l'un d'eux, enregistrée à nantes le trois avril
mil-huit-cent-six par Dufau, qui a reçu un franc dix centimes.

VARSAVAUX
J. NOYER

vu par nous président du tribunal de première instance
séant à nantes, pour légalisation des Signatures
varsavaux et Noyer apposées ci-dessus.

Ce jour trois avril mil huit cent six

GANDON

COMMERCIAL AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I William D. Patterson Commercial agent of the United
States of America for the Port and District of Nantes
do hereby certify that the Signatures affixed to the
foregoing Document are those of Messrs J Royer and
Varsavaux both Notaries publick for the City of Nantes
and of Mr Gandon President of the Tribunal of premiere
Instance at the said City and that to their Signatures
and Ads as such, full faith and Credit is and ought to
be due and given

[Seal]

In testimony whereof I have hereunto Set my Hand &
affixed my Seal of Office at Nantes this 4th. of april
1806.

W D PATTERSON

10a. Translation of the Power of Attorney issued by Jean Audubon,
Anne Moinet Audubon, and Claude François Rozier to Jean Audubon and
Ferdinand Rosier, April 4, 1806.

[stamp]
REP. FRA.
75 cen

In presence of Royer and his colleague, notaries, living at Nantes,
department of the Loire-inférieure undersigned,—————————have appeared
Sieur Jean Audubon, capitalist, and Madame Anne Moinet, his wife, whom
he authorizes [to act], living at Number 39, rue Rubens, and Monsieur
Claude François Rozier, of rue de la Fosse, all three of the commune
of Nantes: who empower, to act as their general and special attorneys,
Jean Audubon, the younger, and Ferdinand Rozier, the son, to whom,
jointly and severally, they give authority and warrant of attorney to
make, for and in the best interest of the grantors, all settlements of
accounts, assignments of credits, recoveries of debts, payments, and
other analogous acts with all tenants, representatives, debtors and
creditors of the grantors in the United States of America; to go into
court, settle, compromise, receive, to give receipts, to renew [loans
or notes], to grant time, to expedite, and in general to do for their
benefit all that shall seem to them most fitting; the whole, according
to the instructions, papers, and documents relating thereto, which have
been, are, or shall be furnished them, as well by the grantors as by
their previous agents and attorneys in the aforesaid United States, to
govern, conduct, and administer the half, belonging to the grantors,
of the farm of Mill Grove in Pennsylvania, as well as to exploit, or
cause to be exploited the lead mine recently discovered on the said
farm; to consult, in every important matter, Mr. Miers Fisher,—merchant
at Philadelphia, as a common friend and good counsellor; to keep all
necessary books and registers; at the end of each year, or sooner, to
strike the balance of receipts and expenses for the control of the said
farm and the exploitation of the mine, should there be reason for it;
to sell at prices, charges, stipulations, and conditions, upon which
they shall agree, but In accord with Monsieur Dacosta, owner of the
other half, the half of the said farm of Mill Grove, belonging to the
grantors; to receive the price thereof, to give receipt for it, to make
all divisions, to receive all allotments, and in general to perform
for the interest of the grantors all conservative and final acts in
every court of justice before all jurisdictions and public officers,
which shall seem to them necessary or useful: to the effect of which
all analogous powers, expressed or unexpressed, foreseen or unforeseen,
even of substituting in whole or in part of the aforesaid powers,
whosoever shall seem good to them, and of revoking him, are given
to them by the present bill of attorney, which will not be subject
to expiration.—— Done and granted in the office and on the report of
Royer, one of us, under the signatures of the persons in appearance,
after reading, this third day of April, one thousand eight hundred and
six. The minute is signed by the parties and the undersigned notaries;
it remains with Royer, one of us, recorded at Nantes the third of April
one thousand eight hundred and six, by Dufau, who has received one
franc, ten centimes.

VARSAVAUX
J. NOYER

[Seal] Examined by us, judge of the Court of the First
Instance, sitting at Nantes, for the authentication
of the signatures Varsavaux and Royer, affixed
above, this third day of April, one thousand eight
hundred and six.

GANDON

11. Account Current of John Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier with the
estate of Benjamin Bakewell, late commission merchant in New York,
showing their dealings and standing with this house during the first
sixteen months of their business experience in the West. Covers the
period, August 1, 1807 to December 13, 1808. (Statement accompanying
the letter of Thomas Bakewell, reproduced in Vol. I, p. 196.)

Drs Messrs John Audubon & Ferdinand Rozier in Account
Current with Benjn Bakewell

1807
Augt 1 To Sundry Merchdize pr Invoice $2482 35
31 " Cash sundry expences on the above 6 44
Septr 29 " Merchdize Powder Horns shot bags &c 57
Novr 13 " W Taylor exps on Do to Pittsburgh 3 77
" Cash certificate property pr Mentor
to Nantes 2
30 " Do postage sundry french letters 3 14
Decer 31 " Advt pr Jane # for Indigo & expences 1516 43

1808
Jany 29 " Cash frt & cartge Oil from Philada 12 45
30 " Do pd Hislop for breast pins on your
a/c 9
Balance 695 12
-------
4787 50

1808
March 1 To Merche pr Bill @ 6 mos $ 161
April 7 " your note due this day 3647 29
" R. Henderson amt due him by you 72 12
June 27 " Cash cartge & Lighterage on tobacco 7 50
" Freight & primage— " Do 105
July 28 " your note due this day 787 73
Septr 23 " Mdse 1 doz sans paraitres 24 24
-------
$4804 90
Decr 13 To Balance $924 49
-------

* * * * *

Messrs John Audubon & Ferdinand Rozier in Account
Current with Benjn Bakewell Crs

1807
Augt. 4 By your note at 8 mos $3647 29
Decr. 31 " net proceeds sales on 4.50
your a/c 319.35 323 85
" Francis Rozier balance his a/c 816 56
-------
$4787 50

1808 -------
Feby 1 By Balance as pr a/c rendered $ 695 12
March 1 " your dft on U S Bank Philada 2000
" commission on goods allowed
you $118.20 [paper torn]
deduct ⅓ profit on
french goods 24.26 [ 93.94 ]
25 " R Kinder & Co's accepte @ 6 mos. [paper torn]
" L Huron's note — " 9 days. [ " ]
" your note @ 4 mos for balance [ " ]
Balance [ 924.49 ]
New York Decemr. 13th. 1808
for the Assignees of the [estate of Benjamin
Bakewell]
TH[OMAS BAKEWELL]

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. For brig _Mentor_, see Chapter XI,
Vol. I, p. 163, and for the ship _Jane_, Captain Sammis,
_ibid._, p. 158. For Messrs. Robert Kinder & Company,
see accompanying letter of Thomas Bakewell, Vol. I,
p. 196, and letter of William Bakewell, his uncle,
_ibid._, p. 199. Laurence Huron was a French importer,
resident in Philadelphia; for his award in the disputed
Dacosta claim, see Vol. I, p. 168. At this time Benjamin
Bakewell's importing business was in the hands of his
creditors, but his son, Thomas Bakewell, was still
employed in the office.

11a. Final Account of Francis Dacosta, rendered July 25, 1807,
to Lieutenant Jean Audubon, his partner in the unfortunate mining
enterprise at "Mill Grove"; later contested and settled by arbitration.
(For comment, see Vol. I, p. 168.)

Dr. Mill Grove Farm—in account with Francis Dacosta

1806
July 15th. To printers Charges for advertising 4 44
Aug. 23d To horse hired 4 50
Octb 15 To housing the chair 4 months 4
Nov. 29 To Notariat and Consular charges in Bordeaux for
Certificate to make void the mortgage & bond
given to M. Fisher as agent 29 52
1807
July 25 Ballance 390 62
-------
$433 8

Dr. John Audubon of Nantz in Account

1806
June 1st To Balance brought from the last account 316 27
1807
July 25 to interest of the same to this day 13 m.,
25 Dc 21 15
Sepbr 26 to his half in the Lead ore delivered to him &
valued as 80
above $160
ditto
1806
ditto to ditto in the tools and furniture do do at
$189.36 94 67
Octbr 15 to ditto in the chair Sold 75 Dollars 37 50
to the recorder in Norristown for entering
satisfaction of John Audubon mortgage
to John Augustine Prevost 2 83
to compensation claimed by Francis Dacosta for
making up half of his expences, in managing the
mining Works, the mills repairs, & taking up
the formation of a Company, during two years
of constant cares—troubles—and loss of time
at 300 dollars a year 600 00
-------
$1152 42

* * * * *

Mill Grove Farm—in account with Francis Dacosta Cr.

1806

Sepbre 26 By lead ore valued & divided 160
ditto By tools & furniture—ditto—ditto 189 36
By M. Mackley s/ refunding money / 2 00

Oct. 11 By sale of the Chair 75

1807

april 6 By Sale of 84 panes of Glass to John Pawling 6 72
-------
$433 8

Current with Francis Dacosta Cr.

1807 By cash 6 47

July 25 By half of the ballance of the Mill Grove
Farm—account current amounting as per
the above account to 390.62 195 31

do do Ballance claimed this day 950 64
-------
$1152 42

E. E. Philadelphia the 25th July 1807
[Signed] FRANCIS DACOSTA.

* * * * *

Erreurs à réléver dans le Compte de M. J. Audubon

Veritables valeurs " an lieu de Difference

dans le Balance " 125"8 300 " 174.92

do Furnitures " 189"36 270 " 80.64

do Chairs " 75" 125 " 50 "

do Mine 120.29
280.29 400 " 119 71
do — 160 " ------ -------
$425-27
la moitié est de 212.63½

Omis $300 payé par francis Dacosta à Miers Fisher
le 24 May 1803 300

Ditto $176"67 La proportion de Fis Dacosta dans
la rente de la premiere annee qui ne lui a pas été
payé 176.67
-------
$689.30

12. Quit Claim or Release given by John James Audubon to Ferdinand
Rozier on the Dissolution of their Partnership in Business at Sainte
Geneviève, Upper Louisiana (Missouri), April 6, 1811.

I John Audibon having this day by mutual Consent with Ferdinand Rozier,
dissolved and forever closed the partnership and firm of Audibon &
Rozier,—and having Received from said Ferdinand Rozier, payments and
notes to the full amount of my part of the goods & debts of the late
firm of Audibon & Rozier—I the said John Audibon one of the firm
aforesaid, do hereby release and forever quit Claim to all or any
Interest which I have or may have in the Stock on hand and debts due to
the Late Firm of Audibon & Rozier unto him the said Ferdinand Rozier,
all my rights titles, claimes and Interest in the goods merchandise and
debts due to the late Firm of Audibon & Rozier—and do hereby authorize
and empower him for my part to collect the same in any manner whatseer.
either privately or by suit or suits in law or equity—hereby acclaiming
him sole and absolute proprietor and rightful owner of all the goods
merchandises & debts of the firm aforesaid, as completely as they were
the goods and property of the Late firm of Audibon & Rozier—

In witness whereof I have hereto Set my hand & Seal this Sixth day of
April 1811

[Seal]

JOHN AUDUBON

ED D. DE VILLMONTE

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. It will be noticed that the
naturalist writes his name seven times as "Audibon," in
this document, but signs in the way usual with him at
the period. See Vol. I, p. 24.

13. Copy of a portion of the first Will of Lieutenant Jean Audubon.
Couëron, May 20, 1812. (For comment on this and documents Nos. 14 to
18, see Chapter IV.)

Jean AUDUBON, propriétaire demeurant à sa maison de la Gerbetière
commune de Couëron, lequel sain d'esprit a fait son testament comme
suit:

Par les présentes mon testament.

Je donne et lègue à dame Anne Moinette mon épouse, la part et
portion disponible en usufruit à raison de ce que j'aurai ou non de
descendants de généralement tous les biens meubles et immeubles qui
m'appartiendront à l'instant de mon décès.

Je donne et lègue à Monsieur Jean Audubon que je crois actuellement aux
Etats-Unis sans cependant en être sûr, la moitié en toute propriété de
généralement tous les biens meubles et immeubles qui m'appartiendront
à l'instant de mon décès pour par lui en faire et disposer en toute
propriété et à sa volonté à la charge toutefois par lui de laisser dame
Anne Moinette mon épouse jouir sur iceux du legs fait ci-dessus en sa
faveur.

Je donne et lègue à dame Rose Bouffard épouse de Monsieur Gabriel Loyen
du Puigaudeau, demeurant actuellement an Port-Launay en Couëron, la
moitié en propre de généralement tous les biens meubles et immeubles
qui m'appartiendront à l'instant de mon décès pour par lui en faire et
disposer en toute propriété et à sa volonté à la charge toutefois par
elle de laisser dame Anne Moinette mon épouse, jouir sur iceux du legs
que je fais ci-dessus en sa faveur.

Je veux et entends qu'en cas de mort de Monsieur Audubon ou de madame
Puigaudeau, mes deux derniers légataires aux présentes ou même de
tous les deux, les héritiers en ligne directe de l'un ou de l'autre
recueillent entr'eux le legs fait en leur faveur, c'est-à-dire que
les héritiers de M. Audubon recueilleront le legs qui lui est fait
et ceux de Madame Puigaudeau celui fait à la dite; en cas toutefois
que les sieurs Audubon et la dame Puigaudeau ne recueilleraient pas
eux-mêmes le legs, soit parce qu'ils précéderaient moi le testateur, ou
autrement,...

14. Copy of the second and last Will of Lieutenant Jean Audubon. March
15, 1816.

Moi, soussigné, Jean AUDUBON, demeurant à la Gerbetière en la commune
de Couëron, département de la Loire-Inférieure.

Par les présentes mon testament.

Je donne et lègue a dame Anne MOINETTE, mon épouse la part et portion
disponible en usufruit à raison de ce que j'aurai de descendants de
généralement tous les biens meubles et immeubles qui m'appartiendront
à l'instant de mon décès.

Je donne et lègue à Monsieur Jean RABAIN créole de Saint-Domingue,
que je crois actuellement aux Etats-Unis, sans cependant en être sûr,
époux de Mademoiselle Lucy BACKWELL, la moitié en toute propriété de
généralement tous les biens meubles et immeubles qui m'appartiendront
à l'instant de mon décès pour par lui en faire et disposer en toute
propriété et à sa volonté, à la charge toutefois par lui de laisser
dame Anne Moinette, mon épouse jouir sur iceux du legs fait ci-dessus
en sa faveur.

Je donne et lègue à dame Rose BOUFFARD, créole de Saint-Domingue
épouse de M. Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau, demeurant actuellement an
Port-Launay en Couëron, la moitié en propre de généralement tous les
biens meubles qui m'appartiendront à l'instant de mon décès pour par
elle en faire et disposer en toute propriété et à sa volonté, à la
charge toutefois par elle de laisser à dame Anne Moinette, mon épouse
jouir sur iceux du legs fait ci-dessus en sa faveur.

Je veux et entends qu'en cas de mort de M. RABAIN ou Madame Puigaudeau,
mes deux derniers légataires aux présentes, ou même de tous les deux,
les héritiers en ligne directe de l'un ou de l'autre recueillent
entr'eux le legs fait en leur faveur.

Cela dit, que les héritiers de M. RABAIN recueilleront le legs qu'il
lui est fait et ceux de dame Puigaudeau celui fait à la dite dame
en cas toutefois que les dits sieurs Rabain et dame Puigaudeau ne
recueilleront pas eux-mêmes les legs faits, parce qu'ils précéderaient
moi le testataire, ou autrement et dans le cas ou par quelque motif
que ce puisse être les présentes dispositions en faveur de Jean
Rabain et Rose Bouffard épouse Loyen du Puigaudeau seraient attaquées
et annulées, je déclare donner mes biens meubles et immeubles sans
exception quelconque à la dame Anne Moinette mon épouse en toute
propriété.

Fait dans ma demeure susdite à la Gerbetière en Couëron le 15 Mars
1816. Vive le Roi!

Signé: AUDUBON.

15. Copy of a portion of the first Will of Madame Anne Moynet, wife of
Lieutenant Audubon. December 4, 1814.

Par les preséntes mon testament.

Je donne et lègue à Monsieur Jean AUDUBON, mon mari, la jouissance
en toute propriété des biens meubles et celle en usufruit des biens
immeubles qui m'appartiendront à l'instant de mon décès, pour qu'à l'un
et l'autre titre de cette epoque, il en jouisse fasse et dispose comme
de tous ses autres biens sans être tenu d'en donner caution, voulant et
entendant qu'il puisse faire sur les immeubles tous changements, coupes
de bois et autres qu'il lui plaira, le tout avec dispense des dommages
et intérêts.

Je donne et lègue en toute propriété à Monsieur Jean Audubon fils et
à dame Rose Bouffard, épouse de Monsieur Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau
à chacun par moitié, la totalité de tous les biens qui composeront ma
succession immobilière à l'instant de mon décès, duquel néanmoins par
suite du legs fait ci-dessus en faveur de mon mari, ils ne pourront se
mettre en possession qu'a sa mort.

Arrivant que mon mari fut mort avant moi, je veux et entends que
M. Jean AUDUBON fils et la dame Rose Bouffard, épouse Puigaudeau,
recueillent aussi ma sucession mobilière à l'effet de quoi le cas
arrivant, je leur lègue et donne en toute propriété.

Mes intentions que si M. Jean Audubon fils ou la dite dame Puigaudeau
étaient morts l'un ou l'autre avant moi ou même tous les deux, leurs
enfants soient mes légataires, c'est-à-dire que les enfants de M.
Audubon recueilleraient entr'eux ce que celui-ci doit avoir et que ceux
de Madame Puigaudeau recueilleraient aussi entr'eux ce que celle-ci
doit avoir à l'effet de quoi je les donne et lègue aux dits enfants.

Si à ma mort l'un ou l'autre de M. Audubon fils ou de Madame Puigaudeau
étaient eux-mêmes morts sans enfants, je veux que ce soit alors les
survivants d'eux deux ou ses enfants qui recueillent ma succession
entière, pourquoi à cette cause, je lègue la totalité de mes biens
meubles et immeubles,...

16. Copy of a portion of the second Will of Madame Jean Audubon. May
10, 1816.

... Je donne et lègue à Monsieur Jean AUDUBON, mon époux, la part
et portion disponible en usufruit à raison de ce que j'aurai ou non
d'enfants de généralement tous les biens meubles et immeubles qui
m'appartiendront à l'instant de mon décès pour par lui en jouir sa vie
durant, sans pouvoir être tenu à en fournir caution et à ma mort mes
héritiers les prendre dans l'état où ils seront.

Je donne et lègue en toute propriété à M. Jean RABIN, créole de
Saint-Domingue, époux de demoiselle Lucy BACHWELL, laquelle je crois
aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique, sans cependant en être sûre et à dame Rose
Bouffard, créole de Saint-Domingue, épouse de Monsieur Gabriel Loyen
du Puigaudeau, demeurant an Plessis commune de Couëron, la généralité
de tous les biens meubles et immeubles qui m'appartiendront à l'instant
de mon décès, pour par eux s'en mettre en possession, les partager par
moitié et chacun jouir faire et disposer de ceux qui lui échoieront
comme de ses autres biens propres de ce jour. Si M. Jean Audubon mon
époux, est mort avant moi, mais seulement du jour de sa mort s'il me
survit parce que je veux expressément que le legs fait ci-dessus en sa
faveur ait sa pleine et entière exécution de préférence et avant tout.

Je veux et entends qu'en cas de mort de Monsieur RABIN ou de Madame
Puigaudeau mes deux derniers légataires ou même de tous les deux, les
héritiers en ligne directe de l'un ou de l'autre réunis recueillent
le legs fait en faveur de leur auteur, c'est-à-dire que les héritiers
de M. RABIN recueuilleraient le legs à lui fait et ceux de Madame
PUIGAUDEAU ce que celle-ci aurait recueilli.

Arrivant que les libéralités faites en faveur de Monsieur Rabin
ou celles faites en fabeur de Madame Puigaudeau ou même toutes les
deux par quelles causes ou raisons que ce soit viendraient à être
déclarées nulles, je veux que Monsieur Audubon, mon époux recueille
en toute propriété les biens meubles et immeubles qui en font l'objet
et auraient passé aux mains de celui ou ceux qui ne pourraient les
faire à l'effet de quoi je l'institue mon héritier en droits, fonds et
propriétés pour les biens que mes autres légataires ci-dessus ou l'un
d'eux seulement ne recueilleraient pas,...

17. Copy of the third Will—"No 169—of Madame Anne Moynet, widow of M.
Jean Audubon, living at his house of La Gerbetière, situated near the
village of Port-Launay, not far from Couëron." December 26, 1819.

Par les présentes mon testament;

Je donne et lègue en toute propriété à Monsieur Jean RABIN époux
de dame Lucy BACKWELL, que je crois présentement aux Etats-Units
d'Amérique et à dame Rose BOUFFARD, épouse de M. Gabriel Loyen du
Puigaudeau aîné la généralité de tous les biens meubles et immeubles de
toute espèce et nature qui m'appartiendront à l'instant de mon décès en
quelles mains et lieux qu'ils soient et par quelques personnes qu'ils
soient dûs ou possédés pour par eux deux en jouir faire et disposer
en toute propriété comme de leurs autres biens, et ainsi qu'ils le
jugeront convenable, sauf à les partager par égale portion s'ils le
trouvent à propos et nécessaire et sans que qui que ce soit étant ou se
prétendant mes héritiers, puissent y apporter aucune opposition, parce
que par ces mêmes présentes, j'institue le dit M. Rabin et la dame
Puigaudeau, mes seuls et uniques héritiers.

Je veux que dans le cas de mort de M. Rabin, ses enfants recueillent
entr'eux le legs fait en sa faveur, je veux également qu'en cas de mort
de Madame Loyen du Puigaudeau, ses enfants recueillent entr'eux le legs
fait en faveur de la dite leur mère.

Je veux également qu'en cas de mort de M. Rabin sans enfants, Madame
Loyen du Puigaudeau ou ses enfants, recueillent seuls la totalité de
ma fortune et par ces mêmes raisons, qu'en cas de mort de Mme Loyen du
Puigaudeau sans enfants, Jean Rabin ou ses enfants recueillent seuls la
totalité de ma dite fortune.

18. Copy of a portion of the fourth and last Will of "Madame Jean
Audubon, living at the house of Les Tourterelles ('The Turtle Doves')
at Couëron." July 16, 1821.

Par les présentes, mon testament,

Je donne et lègue en toute propriété à Monsieur Jean AUDUBON, dit
Jean RABIN, époux de dame Lucy BACKWELL, et que je crois présentement
aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique et à dame Rose BOUFFARD, épouse de Monsieur
Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau aîné, demeurant à Couëron. Je leur donne
et lègue, dis-je la généralité de tous biens meubles et immeubles
de toute espèce et nature que je laisserai et qui m'appartiendront à
l'instant de mon décès, en quelques mains et lieux qu'ils soient et par
quelques personnes qu'ils soient dûs ou possédés pour par eux deux en
jouir, faire et disposer comme de leurs autres biens et ainsi qu'il le
jugeront convenables, sauf à les partager par égale portion quand et
comme ils le voudront sans que qui que ce soit se disant ou prétendant
les héritiers puissent y apporter aucune opposition parce que par les
dites présentes, j'institue les dits M. Jean Audubon, dit Jean Rabin et
la dame Rose Bouffard, épouse Loyen du Puigaudeau, les deux seuls et
uniques héritiers de mes droits, actions, possessions et généralement
tous autres, sans exception pas même pour les préventions.

Je veux et entends que dans le cas où l'un ou l'autre ou même tous les
deux ne pourraient pas recueillir les effets de ma libéralité, soit
parce que je leur survivrais ou par toute autre raison, les enfants
qu'ils laisseraient soient mes héritiers et légataires, c'est-à-dire
que les enfants de Monsieur Jean Audubon dit Rabin, recueilleraient
entr'eux la moitié de ma succession que je leur lègue et ceux de
dame Rose Bouffard, épouse Loyen du Puigaudeau, recueilleraient aussi
ensemble l'autre moitié que je leur lègue également.

Je veux et entends qu'avant de mort avant moi de Monsieur Jean Audubon,
dit Jean Rabin sans enfants, Madame Rose Bouffard épouse Loyen du
Puigaudeau ou ses enfants recueillent seuls la totalité de ma fortune,
et par même raison qu'en cas de mort avant moi de Madame Rose Bouffard,
épouse Loyen du Puigaudeau; sans enfants, Monsieur Jean Audubon, dit
Jean Rabin ou ses enfants recueillent seuls cette totalité,...

19. Notice of the Death of Lieutenant Jean Audubon, from the Official
Registry of Nantes, Nantes, February 19, 1818. (For translation, see
Chapter V.)

Extrait du registre des actes de décès des 3o & 4o cantons de la Ville
de Nantes, département de la Loire-Inférieure.

L'an 1818, le 19 Février à 11 heures du matin, devant nous soussignés,
adjoints et officiers de l'état civil, délégués de M. le Maire de
Nantes, chevalier de Saint-Louis, ont comparu les sieurs Gabriel Loyen
du Puigaudeau rentier, gendre du défunt ci-après demeurant à Couëron
et François Guillet, épicier demeurant quai de la Fosse, majeurs,
lesquels nous ont déclaré que ce jour à six heures du matin, Jean
Audubon, ancien capitaine de navire, pensionnaire de l'Etat, né aux
Sables d'Olonne département de la Vendée, époux de dame Anne Moinet,
est décédé en la demeure de demoiselle Berthier, située chaussée de la
Madeleine, No 24, 4o canton.

Les déclarants ont signé avec nous le présent acte, d'après lecture
leur faite. Le dit défunt âgé de 74 ans.

Signé an registre: GABRIEL LOYEN DU PUIGAUDEAU,
GILLET et JOSEPH DE LA TULLAYE,
adjoint.

20. Letter of Lieutenant Jean Audubon to Francis Dacosta, his American
agent and attorney, relating to the conduct of his son and to the lead
mine at "Mill Grove" farm; transliterated from photographic copy of
duplicate (Letter No 4) in Jean Audubon's letter-book. Nantes, March
10, 1805. (For translation, see Chapter VIII.)

NANTES _Le 19 ventose an 13, 10 mars 1805_

Mr DACOSTA
a phyladelphie

p Duplicata.

Je viens de recevoir dans ce moment votre duplicata du 12. 9bre. & la
votre du 5. Decembre, qui n'est pas aussi avantageuse, Sous plusiers
rapports que votre précédente, mais enfin il faut espérer que l'item
vous prouvera que votre dernier sillon ne sera point déserteur, et que
les occides de fer qui se trouvent se dissiperont en fouillant plus
avant, an moins c'est ce que je désire, vous faites bien de faire tous
vos efforts pour avoir des associés & Si cela ne réussit pas, & que
vous vouliez travailler pour notre compte Je trouverai toujours bon,
tout ce que vous ferez, puisque vous avez ma confiance dans ce cas je
crois que vous s... igé[?], de faire faire des reparations les plus
urgentes Surtout à la maison principale, Devant vous y loger. Quand
à Mr W. Thomas, vous ferez bien de vous le garder, pour toutes les
raisons, que vous me dites & Je crois qu'il ne doit pas sopiniatrer à
se retirer, qu'il ne sache, s'il à mérité, oui ou non, sa récompense.

Je suis Mr. on ne peut plus faché de ce que vous ayez à vous plaindre,
de la conduite de mon fils, car le tout, bien considéré n'est
occasionné, que par de mauvais conseils & un deffaut d'usage on a
aiguillonné son amour propre, et peut être avait-il été assez jeune
pour se vanter, dans la maison ou il va que cette plantation devait
lui echoir, à lui seul; vous avez tous les moyens de detruire cette
présomption, on n' ignore point a philadelphie, que vous avez autant
de droits que moi & que vous ne faites rien que pour notre mutuel
avantage.

Je lui ecris a ce sujet, car il ne men parle point, et je lui donne la
cémonce que mérite son indiscrétion; vous lirez cette lettre et voudrez
bien avoir la complaisance de la cacheter avant de lui remettre. Vous
me dites que je puis m'en rapporter sur son compte an rapport que m'en
fait Mr. Meyers fisher, dans sa longue lettre du mois de Septembre que
Malheureusement je n'ai pas reçu, car Mr fisher, ne me parle point
de lui, ni en bien, ni en mal. Quand à venir dans le pays, cela me
parraît presqu'impossible, rappeller mon fils n'est pas plus aisé, les
raisons qui me l'en fait l'envoyer existent toujours; il ne faut qu'un
instant pour le faire changer du mal au bien, sa grande jeunesse et sa
pétulance sont tous ses torts et si vous avez la Bonté de lui donner
l'indispensable, il sentira bientot la Nécessité de se rapprocher de
vous et pourra vous être d'une grande utilité, si vous exploitez par
vous même.

Il faut donc Mon cher monsieur, que nous tachions de le ramener par la
douceur à son Devoir. Si vous avez de l'indulgence pour lui ce sera moi
qui vous en aurai toute l'aubligation; j'espere que la lettre cy-jointe
operera chez lui un changement. C'est mon seul fils, mon heritier, & je
suis vieux. Quand Mr Meiers fisher aura montré ma lettre au prétendu
beaupere, il verra qu'il s'est trompé dans son calcul sur le prétendu
Mariage de sa fille, car s'il avait lieu sans mon consentement tout
secours de ma part cesserait des cet instant; et c'est ce que vous
pouvez bien si vous voulez avoir cette bonté, dire an prétendu beau
pere, ne voulant pas que mon fils se marie aussi jeune; vos lettres du
28 Octobre & 12 Novembre sont à la campagne. Je ne puis point répondre
categoriquement sur leurs contents; Je les examinerai & vous dirai
par ma prochaine ce que J'en pense. Votre famille que J'ai vu se porte
bien. Nos dames vous rémercient de votre bon souvenir. Je suis &.

[JEAN AUDUBON.]

21. Letters of John James Audubon to Claude François Rozier, father,
and to Ferdinand Rozier, son, immediately preceding and following his
active partnership in business with the latter: 1807 and 1812. (For
translations see Chapters XI and XV.)

[Letter No. 2, superscribed] Monsieur Fr. ROZIER,
Negociant
Nantes.

Loire inferieure.

NEW YORK _avril 24 1807_—

Mr. ROZIER Negociant
Nantes

MON CHER MONSIEUR

Je profite d'une bonne occasion pour Bordeaux pour vous accuser
reception d'un Duplicats des pouvoirs que nous vous demandai plusieurs
mois passes. Vous saurez aussi que les vins consignes a M. L. Huron de
Philadelphia sont arrives en cette ville et ont sauves les assurances;
votre fils s'est transporte sur la place et par une de ses lettres
m'apprend que les 60 caisses sont vendues il me dit que vous pouvez
compter sur un profit net d'a peu pres 20 p. ct. s'il s'est trouve tres
bons et le reste ne manquera de trouver acheteur: Mr. Le Ray est arrive
et a apporte avec lui une petite Boite de dentelles pour M. Benjamin
Bakewell d'icy elle doit arriver en peu de jours de Philadelphia. Mr.
B. B. a paru satisfait de la vente de son Bois Futtie. il lui tarde
seulement de voir les retours il est malheureux que le commerce de
votre ville avec ce pays ne soye pas aussi regulierement suivi qu'a
Bordeaux d'ou nous avons des Batiments tous les mois et par plusieurs.
Comme notre ami Ferdinand vous ecriva de Philadelphia concernant Mr.
Huron je ne m'ettendray pas sur son compte: dans plusieurs de vos
Lettres que si nous nous decidions obtenir un magasin de detail que
vous pourriez nous tenir constamment employe nos idees sur ce sujet
sont parfaitement d'accord et ce serait avec bien du plaisir que nous
commenserions sous auspices et les bons avis de Mr. Bakewell ici; les
objects bien choisis bien achette et envoye avec soins sont toujours
sur de rencontrer un bon marche: j'ose esperer que le Navire la Jeanne
Capt Sammis sera arrive a votre port et que les Indigos charges par M.
B. Bakewell pourront y etre venu en temp de vente de cette marchandise
dont j'ai neanmoins quelque crainte vu le prix qu'ils lui avaient
coute. Nous vous remercions sincerement pour le prix courant que
vous nous avez envoye, dans une de mes dernieres ecrite par voye de
Bordeaux je vous priais de demander a Mr. Fleury Emery une boite de
graines de la Martinique et de se pays cy. nous esperons sous peu vous
envoyer quelque marchandises et peut etre Mr. Bakewell profitera d'une
occasion que nous allons avoir en peu de jour pour votre port. A peu
plus trois semaines passees Je fus a Mill Grove et l'affermais pour un
an ne pouvant faire mieux pour le present. Votre fils a Philadelphia a
present va essayer de terminer les comptes de mon pere avec Mr. Dacotta
[Dacosta] qui n'oublie pas aisement d'etre chicanneur... presentez Je
vous prie mes respects et amities a votre bonne famille et epouse et
croyez en moi comme votre devoue

et constant
serviteur

J. J. AUDUBON

Ayez la complaisance de faire parvenie l'incluse a mon bon pere.

[Superscribed] Mrs F. ROZIERS
Mercht
St Genevieve

u. L.

SHIPPINGPORT, _10th. Augst. 1812_

MON CHER ROZIER:—

Come il est presque probable que l'occasion que je trouve est sur, je
suis avec elle le plaisir de t'écrire quelque mots—

Je reçus en temps ta lettre envoyé a Phila a lequelle je repondis
alors; depuis je n'ai entendu de tes nouvelles que par voies très
indirectes, je serais bien content si tu peux donner quelques instants
a tes amis que tu me compte aux nombre et m'écrire par temps; je
partis avec ma femme et mon fils de Phila au mois passé, la plus grande
parties de ce temps a été à descendre L'Ohio qui est actuellement très
bas nous avons eu la Barge et L'Equipage du Gl Clark, avec la compagnie
de Mr R. A. Maupin et de Mde Gait qui avaient rester plusieurs mois a
New York & a Phila. Je vais probablement descendre a la N. Orléans cet
autumn avec N. Berthoud, les merchandizes sont extremement rare et très
chere, partout, mais plus encore les gros Lainages que l'on ne trouve
du tout.

Je n'ai pas de doute que ton plomb ne se vende tres bien cet article
ayant augmenté considerablement depuis la guerre.—dans les derniers
jours que j'etais dans l'Est j'ai recu une lettre de mon père et une
de ton frère toute ta famille se portait alors bien dit 4 mois passés,
ton frère desire beaucoup entendre de toi, si la paix vient un jour non
bien loin (ce qu'à Dieu plaise) j'espere entrer en liaison avec lui.

Je lui est écrit et l'engage a faire de même tes lettres pouront se
rendre si envoyers a N. York et de la dans la Cartel. Ma femme se porte
bien et mon fils sois de même et compte au nombre de tes amis est ce
que dison celui qui t'estimera toujours.

Adieu

J. AUDUBON

APPENDIX II

AUDUBON'S EARLY DATED DRAWINGS MADE IN FRANCE AND AMERICA

Drawings now in the Collections of Mr. Joseph Y. Jeanes, of
Philadelphia, and formerly belonging to Mr. Edward Harris,
of Moorestown, New Jersey; of Mr. John E. Thayer, Lancaster,
Massachusetts; and of Harvard University. (See Chapter XII.)

In addition to the serial numbers, here given, the drawings usually
bear French and English names, with various notes in French relating to
weights and measurements, and rarely with sketches of detail.

Mr. Jeanes' collection contains the following:

No. 5. Long-tailed Mountain Tit, 22 January, 1805
13. Sedge Sparrow, near
Nantes, 1805
22. Reed Sparrow, near
Nantes, 1805
78. Hawk's Eye,—Spotted
Plover,—France, 18 March, 1805 [?]
97. The Creeper, France, June 7, 1805
86. Shrike, near Nantes, July, 1805
93. Nuthatch, near Nantes, July 9, 1805
Terns, France, July 12, 1805
50. The Redstart, near
Nantes, August, 1805
61. The Great Swallow (Le
martin noir), near
Nantes, 1805
65. The Wagtail, near Nantes, Dec. 22, 1805
69. The Green Finch, near
Nantes, Dec., 1805
92. L'Ecorcheur à tête rouge,
near Nantes, 1805
6. "Grosbec," near Nantes, 1806 [?]
94. Woodpecker, near Nantes, March 8, 1806
Fish Hawk, Perkioming
Creek, 1806
209. Wood Thrush, Mill Grove, August 14, 1806
145. Long-tailed Duck, New
York, Dec. 17, 1806
Golden Eye, New York, Dec. 28, 1806
153. American Widgeon, New
York, Dec. 28, 1806
102. Robin (eggs dated May
8th), New York, Jany. 4, 1807
156. Shelldrake, New York, Jany. 28, 1807
143. Widgeon, New York, Feby. 23, 1807
146. Canvasback, New York, March 22, 1807
163. Shoveller, New York, April 3, 1807
163. Sprig-tail, New York, Feby. 22, 1807
Wood Duck, 1807
48. Orchard Oriole, Falls of
the Ohio, June 5, 1808
214. Chimney Swallow, Falls of
the Ohio, July 27, 1808
188. Kentucky Warbler, 20
miles from Philadelphia, (June?), 1809
109. Passenger Pigeon, Falls of
the Ohio, Dec. 11, 1809
Hooded Merganser, Falls
of the Ohio, March 7, 1810
41. Catbird, Red Banks, June, 1810
105. Red-wing Blackbird, June, 1810
81. The Frog-eater (Hawk),
Red Banks, Nov. 29, 1810
186. Killdeer, 1811
200, 201. Pewit, and Great-crested
Flycatcher,
Henderson, May 22, 1811
207. Carolina Parrot, Henderson, June 9, 1811
49. Swamp Sparrow, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1812
6. Spotted Sandpiper,
Pennsylvania, April 22, 1812
11. Whippoorwill, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1812
10. Nighthawk, May 8, 1812
58. Great American Shrike,
Henderson, Nov. 30, 1812
76. Red-crowned black Woodpecker,
Henderson, Oct. 15, 1814
66. Black-capped Nuthatch,
Henderson, Feby. 16, 1815
Willet, Henderson, May 8, 1815
Snipe, Henderson, March 17, 1816
300. Yellow-billed Rail, Henderson, Oct. 9, 1816
Purple Gallinule, New
Orleans, April 23, 1821
Chuck Wills Widow, Red
River, June, 1821

The Harvard University collections contain the following:

No. 91. L'Ecorcheur,
42. The Sedge-bird, near
Nantes, 1805
43. The Nightingale, near
Nantes, July 6, 1805
57. Brown Thrush, near New
York, May 10, 1807

Excellent examples of Audubon's early work in the collection
of Mr. John E. Thayer are:

No. 96. Woodpecker: prior to
1803 (see note, vol. i, p.
178).
112. Water Thrush, Mill
Grove, Pennsylvania, Aug. 2, 1806
144. 64. Malaga Shell Drake.
Goosander, Mergus
Merganser A. W. Chute
de L'Ohio 17 December, 1809
175. Crested Titmouse, Redbanks, July 1, 1810
71. 44. The Spirit or Butterball-Bufflehead,
Henderson, Mar. 19, 1815
154. Golden Crested Wren A.
W., Sylvia Regulus,
Shippingport, Kentucky;
drawn by J. J.
Audubon—Mistletoe on
Black Walnut. Jany. 28, 1820
Hermit Thrush, opposite
Fredericksburg, Ky., Oct. 16, 1820
315. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
(on spray of dogwood).

Among the drawings of the Harris-Jeanes collection which may be earlier
than 1805, though they bear no date, are "The Black Crow of Buffon,
Corneille noire," also the head of a Jackdaw wholly in crayon and
pastel: "No. 160, Le grand Duc, âgé vingt un an, Buffon,—the large
horned owl, Eagle owl. J. J. L. Audubon," a crayon sketch on paper
measuring eighteen by twenty-six inches, and water-marked "J. Kool";
also "No. 164. La corneille mantelle de Buffon, Royalton crow, Sea
crane, hooded crow, crow—British,—J. J. L. Audubon," a crude sketch in
pastels of the same size as the last.

The following legends appear on the drawing of the Canvasback Duck:
"Cet Oiseau est nommé Canvas Back Canard very much esteemed par les
Americans and very rare ici [c]elui est male et étais beau"; "New York
le 22 Mars 1807—J. J. L. Audubon" "No. 146."

APPENDIX III

"THE BIRDS OF AMERICA"

1. Final Lists of Subscribers to "The Birds of America," folio edition,
as published by Audubon in 1839. (See _Ornithological Biography_, vol.
v, pp. 647-651.)

List of American Subscribers

1. Library of Congress of the United States, Washington City.
2. State Departments, Washington City.
3. Library of the General Court of Massachusetts.
4. Legislature of South Carolina, for the Columbia College.
5. Legislature of Louisiana.
6. Legislature of Maryland.
7. Legislature of New York.
8. Legislature of Michigan.
9. Boston Athenæum.
10. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
11. Providence Athenæum, Rhode Island.
12. Salem Athenæum, Salem, Massachusetts.
13. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.
14. Academy of Natural Sciences, do.
15. Columbia College of New York.
16. Boston Natural History Society.
17. Charleston Library, South Carolina.
18. Charleston Natural History Society, South Carolina.
19. Charleston Citizens' Library, do
20. Richard Harlaw [Harlan], Esq., M.D., Philadelphia.
21. John P. Wetherell, Esq. Philadelphia.
22. Mrs. Ford, do.
23. Mrs. Douglas Cruger, New York.
24. Edward Prime Esq., banker, New York.
25. James G. King, Esq. do. do.
26. Cornelius C. Low, Esq. do.
27. P. J. Stuyvesant, Esq., M.D. do.
28. Robert Ray, Esq. do.
29. J. L. Joseph, Esq. do.
30. Richard N. Carman, Esq. do.
31. Mrs. Bailey, do.
32. Stephen Van Rensselaer, Esq., Albany, New York.
33. Hogden Haggerty, Esq. do.
34. W. L. Colman, Esq. do.
35. Samuel Swartout, Esq. do.
36. James Watson Webb, Esq. do.
37. Thomas H. Faile, Esq. do.
38. Lewis Rogers, Esq. do.
39. Jer. Van Rensselaer, Esq. M.D. do.
40. H. C. De Rham, junior, Esq. do.
41. Stephen A. Halsey, Esq. Long Island, do.
42. Edward Harris, Esq. Moorestown, New Jersey.
43. Thomas H. Perkins, Esq. Boston.
44. J. G. Cushing, Esq. do.
45. Samuel Appleton, Esq. do.
46. George C. Shattuck, Esq. M.D. Boston.
47. P. J. Jackson, Esq. do.
48. James Brown, Esq. do.
49. Frederick Tudor, Esq. do.
50. The Honourable Daniel Webster, do.
51. Augustus Thorndike, Esq. do.
52. L. Baldwin, Esq. Civil Engineer, do.
53. E. Greenwood, Esq. Museum, do.
54. George Pratt, Esq. do.
55. William Sturges, Esq. do.
56. Robert Gilmor, Esq. Baltimore.
57. John B. Morris, Esq. do.
58. —— Smith, Esq. Baltimore.
59. Thomas Edmonston, jun. Esq. do.
60. William Gaston, Esq. Savannah, Georgia.
61. James Potter, Esq. do. do.
62. Alexander Telfair, Esq. do. do.
63. Thomas Young, Esq. do. do.
64. John David Mongin, Esq. do. do.
65. Daniel Blake, Esq. do. do.
66. Thomas Butler King, Esq. St. Simon Island, Georgia.
67. Thomas Metcalf, Esq. Augusta, Georgia.
68. E. Geddings, Esq. M.D., Charleston, South Carolina.
69. William J. Rees, Esq. Stateburgh, do.
70. R. O. Anderson, Esq. Georgetown, do.
71. Miss Burley, Salem, Massachusetts.
72. Miss Elizabeth L. Pickman, Salem, Massachusetts.
73. William Oakes, Esq. Ipswich, do.
74. James Arnold, Esq. New Bedford, Rhode Island.
75. Garnet Duncan, Esq. Louisville, Kentucky.
76. John Croghan, Esq. M. D. do. do.
77. Henry Clay, jun. Esq. Ashland, do.
78. James Grimshaw, Esq. New Orleans.
79. Gustavus Schmidt, Esq. do.
80. J. J. Hughes, Esq. Manchester, Mississippi.
81. John Hunt, Esq. Mobile, Alabama.
82. Henry Hunt, Esq. Mobile, Alabama.

Europe

1. Her Most Excellent Majesty, Queen Adelaide, England.
2. (His Most Christian Majesty, Charles X).
3. His Majesty Philippe I. King of the French.
4. Her Royal Highness Mademoiselle d'Orleans.
5. Prince Massena, Paris.
6. His Grace the Duke of Rutland, London.
7. The Honourable W. C. Wentworth Fitzwilliam, London.
8. The Right Honourable the Countess of Ravensworth, Ravensworth
Castle.
9. The University of Edinburgh.
10. The Society of Writers to her Majesty's Signet, Edinburgh.
11. Henry Witham, Esq. of Lartington, Durham.
12. John Rutter, Esq., M.D., Liverpool.
13. Doctor Bickersteth, Liverpool.
14. Armorer Donkin, Esq. Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
15. Yorkshire Philosophical Society, York.
16. John Clough, Esq., Oxton Hall, Yorkshire.
17. Jos. S. Crompton, jun., Esq., Eshott Hall, Bradford, Yorkshire.
18. Thomas Walker, Esq. Killinbeck, near Leeds.
19. Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.
20. John Marshall, jun. Esq., Headlinglay, Leeds.
21. Samuel Greg [Gregg], Esq., Quarry Bank, near Manchester.
22. Edward Lloyd, Esq., Greenhill, near Manchester.
23. The Manchester Society for the promotion of Natural History.
24. The Reverend Peter Horden, M.A., for the Cheetham Library,
Manchester.
25. G. W. Wood, Esq., Manchester.
26. Mrs. Rattsbone [Rathbone], Greenbank, Liverpool.
27. J. G. Children, Esq., British Museum, London.
28. The Right Honourable the Earl of Carnarvon, London.
29. S. P. Atkins, Esq., Walbrook, London.
30. The Right Honourable the Earl of Derby, P. Z. S.
[President of the Zoological Society], &c. &c. &c.
31. The Right Honourable Earl Spencer, London.
32. John Heathcote, Esq., London.
33. Joseph John Gurney, Esq. Earlham Hall, Norfolk.
34. James Darbyshire, Esq., Manchester.
35. John Blackwell, Esq., Manchester.
36. A. J. Cresswell Baker, Esq., Prowin Park.
37. Reverend Edward Craig, Edinburgh.
38. The College of Glasgow, as Trustees of the Hunterian Museum.
39. John Buddle, Esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
40. The York Subscription Library, York.
41. Kirk Patrick, Esq., London.
42. T. B. L. L. Baker, Esq. Christ Church, Oxford.
43. Doctor Lodge, for the University Library, Cambridge.
44. George Thackeray, D.D., Provost of King's College, Cambridge.
45. The Cambridge Philosophical Society.
46. The Fitzwilliam Museum, by M. Davy, Vice Chancellor.
47. Dr. Kidd, for the Anatomical School, Christ Church, Oxford.
48. Doctor Williams, for the Radcliffe Library, Oxford.
49. James Pickering Ord, Esq., Hedge Hill, near Derby.
50. The Right Honourable Viscount Milton, London.
51. M. Feuillet, for the Library of the Royal Institute of France.
52. Vicounte [Viscount] Simeon, for the Ministry of the Interior,
6 copies.
53. M. Pitois, Paris.
54. Mrs. Warden, London.
55. Mr. Hearne, bookseller, London.
56. Henry Ellisan, Esq., Beverly, Yorkshire.
57. Benjamin Smith, Esq. M. P., London.
58. The Right Honourable the Earl of Bradford, London.
59. Thomas Frost, Esq., Gorton Hall, near Manchester.
60. John G. Reeves, Esq., Birmingham.
61. Birmingham Old Library, by Beilby, Knott, and Beilby.
62. Joseph C. Dyer, Esq., Manchester.
63. Thomas Walker, Esq., Ravensfield, near Doncaster.
64. George Lamb Fox, Esq., Yorkshire.
65. Haarlem Library, Holland.
66. Mrs. [Miss] Euphemia Gifford, Duffield Bank, Derby.
67. Charles Fox, Esq., Perrair, near Truro, England.
68. George Lane Fox, Esq., Yorkshire.
69. Sir John Tobin, Liverpool.
70. His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, Dalkeith Palace, Scotland.
71. His Imperial and Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany,
&c. &c. &c.
72. London Institution, by Mr. Bradley, Librarian.
73. Benjamin Phillips, Esq., F. R. S. L., &c. &c. &c., 17 Wimpole
Street, London.
74. Henry G. Bohn, Esq., London.
75. Charles J. Warde, Esq. Welcomb, near Stratford-on-Avon.
76. The British Museum, London (in part).
77. His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, &c. &c. &c.
78. Earl Hardwicke, &c. &c. &c. Wimpole, Arrington, Cambridge.
79. Sir Jacob Hastley, Bart, &c. &c. &c., Cavendish Square,
London.

2. Prospectus of "The Birds of America," as issued in 1828, when ten
Numbers of the original folio were engraved. (Compare _Ornithological
Biography_, vol. i, pp. 1-16, as supplementary text, at the end.)

Under the Particular Patronage and Approbation
of
His Most Gracious Majesty

BIRDS OF AMERICA

from
Drawings
made
During a Residence of Twenty-five Years
in
The United States and its Territories,
by
John James Audubon,
Citizen of the United States.

Member of the Lyceum of New York; Fellow of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh; of the Linnean Society of London;
Member of the Wernerian Natural History Society of
Edinburgh; of the Zoölogical Society, London; Fellow
of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries; Member of the
Society for promoting the useful Arts of Scotland; of
the Literary and Philosophical Societies of Cambridge,
Liverpool, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne; of the Horticultural
Society of Edinburgh; of the Natural History Society
of Manchester; of the Scottish Academy of Painting,
Sculpture and Architecture, &c., &c.

PROSPECTUS.

To those who have not seen any portion of the Author's splendid
Collection of Original Drawings it may be proper to explain, that their
superiority consists in every specimen being of the full size of life,
portrayed with a degree of accuracy as to proportion and outline, the
result of peculiar means discovered and employed by the Author, and
lately exhibited to a meeting of the Wernerian Society. Besides, in
every instance where a difference of plumage exists between the two
sexes, both the Male and Female Birds have been represented. The Author
has not contented himself with single profile views of the originals,
but in very many instances he has grouped them, as it were, at their
natural avocations, in all sorts of attitudes, either on branches
of trees, or amidst plants and flowers: some are seen pursuing with
avidity their prey through the air, or searching diligently their food
amongst the fragrant foliage; whilst others of an aquatic nature swim,
wade, or glide over their allotted element. The Insects, Reptiles, or
Fishes, that form the food of the birds, have been introduced into the
drawings; and the nests of the birds have been frequently represented.
The Plants are all copied from Nature, and the Botanist, it is hoped,
will look upon them with delight. The Eggs of most of the species will
appear in the course of the publication.

The Particulars of the Plan of the Work will be found detailed below:—

1. The Engravings in every instance to be of the
exact dimensions of the Drawings, which, without any
exception, represent the Birds of their natural size.

2. The Plates will be Coloured, in the most careful
manner, from the original Drawings.

3. The Size of the work will be Double Elephant, and
printed on the finest Drawing Paper.

4. Five Plates will constitute a Number; one Plate from
one of the largest Drawings, one from one of the second
size, and three from the smaller Drawings.

5. There are 400 Drawings; and it is proposed that they
shall comprise Three Volumes, each containing about 133
Plates, to which an Index will be given at the end of
each, to be bound up with the Volume.

6. Five Numbers will come out annually.

7. The Price of each Number will be Two Guineas; payable
on delivery.

TEN Numbers being now completed, will give an exact idea of the nature
and style of the Work. All the other Numbers will at least equal these
in interest and execution. It would be advisable for the Subscribers to
procure a Portfolio, to keep the Numbers till a Volume is completed.

⁂Persons desirous of becoming Subscribers are requested to apply to
Mr. Audubon, or Mr. Robert Havell, Jun. (Engraver), 79, Newman Street,
Oxford Street, London.

Where Specimens of the Work may be seen: or, to any of the following
Agents:—Messrs. Treuttel, Würz & Co., Soho Square, and Mr. S.
Highly, Fleet Street, London; MM. Levrault and Pitois, Paris;
Messrs. Robinsons, Liverpool; Mr. T. Sowler, Manchester; Mr. M. A.
Barclay, York; Messrs. Hernaman and Robinson, Leeds; Mr. E. Charnley,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and J. B. Kidd, Esq., Edinburgh.

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. Audubon's first Prospectus was
issued on March 17, 1827, when two Numbers of his
large work were ready, and the last which I have seen
bears the date of 1831, when one hundred plates had
been published. The present citation is from a copy in
possession of the Boston Public Library; it is printed
on two sides of white paper, octavo, and bears the
autograph of "Wm. Everett, Esq., Aug. 7, 1867."

3. Prospectus of the Second (partial) Edition of "The Birds of
America," issued by John Woodhouse Audubon, through Messrs. Trübner &
Company, London, 1859. (See Bibliography, Nos. 9 and 10.)

AUDUBON'S
Celebrated Work

BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA

To be published in Numbers, by Subscription only,
at one half the original price.

The undersigned proposes to publish, by Subscription, this well-known
Work of his late Father, J. J. Audubon, F.R.SS.L.&E., etc., from the
original Copperplates transferred to stone.

This Edition, in softness, finish, and correctness of coloring, will
be superior to the first, and every Plate will be colored from the
original Drawings, still in possession of the family.

It will contain all the Plates and Text of the original Work,
embracing more than one thousand figures of Birds, all of the size of
nature, represented in action amid the scenes or on the plants most
common to their habits,—together with seven volumes royal octavo, of
Ornithological Biography.

The Work will be issued in forty-five numbers viz., forty-four of
Plates and one of Text, each number of Plates containing ten—printed
on seven sheets double-elephant paper, of the best quality for the
purpose, 27 by 40 inches, and will be delivered to Subscribers Monthly,
at £2, 8s. per number; the last Number, comprising seven volumes of
Text, to be delivered bound with the fifteenth number.

It is intended that each Number shall contain as follows: Viz. two
large Plates, each occupying the whole sheet; two of a medium size,
each occupying also the entire sheet; and six of the smaller size,
two Plates on a sheet; thus presenting ten of the original Plates on
seven sheets, giving a variety in each number. The text is properly
and scientifically classified, and when the Work shall be completed the
Plates can be placed and be bound corresponding with the order of the
Text, in either three or four Volumes. The regular issue of the Numbers
will commence so soon as the number of Subscribers will justify the
undertaking.

As the Work will be published for Subscribers alone, few or none being
printed beyond the number subscribed for, it is not possible that
its pecuniary value can ever be much reduced; on the other hand, the
probabilities are that it will rather be increased. Nor will there ever
be a time when it can be published at a less price than the present;
for in estimating the cost the mere expense of manufacturing has been
taken into consideration, without reference to the original cost of
the Copper-plates, which was nearly One hundred thousand Dollars; and
a very small profit has been charged on the expense thus estimated.

The first Number is considered superior in many respects to the
same Plates in the first Edition, and it is confidently hoped that
subsequent Numbers will exhibit still greater superiority as the
Artists gain experience. A full list of Subscribers will be published
with the Work. The Numbers will not be sold separately, except the
first, which will be sent, properly packed, as a Specimen, to any part
of the country, free of expense, on the receipt of £2, 8s.

Orders or communications to Trübner & Co., Booksellers, 60, Paternoster
Row, London.

New York, March 31, 1859.

J. W. AUDUBON.

* * * * *

Trübner & Co. also offer to the Trade and the Public the following
Editions of Audubon's Birds and Quadrupeds of North America:

Birds of North America—Library Edition, 7 vols., royal 8vo., with 500
finely colored Plates, from Drawings made in the United States and
their Territories. Price £25.

Quadrupeds of North America,—By J. J. Audubon and Rev. John Bachman.
Original Edition, 3 vols. imperial folio, bound in half russia.
One hundred and fifty superbly colored Plates. With descriptive
letter-press, in 3 vols., royal 8vo. Price £63. The same work,—Library
Edition, 3 vols. royal 8vo. with one hundred and fifty-five finely
colored Plates. Price £9, 9s.

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. For the citation of this rare
document, from the only copy known to exist, I am
indebted to the kindness of Mr. Ruthven Deane, who
writes: "I found this Prospectus bound in the first
volume of _The Ibis_ (1859). This copy was previously
in possession of the late Pierre Verreaux, of Paris,
France, and is now in the John Crerar Library, Chicago,
Illinois."

Ornithologists will be pleased to find that it
immediately sets at rest numerous disputed questions
concerning the plates and text of this sole, but
ill-fated, attempt at the republication of the original
folio of _The Birds of America_ in America. (See
Bibliography, Nos. 9 and 10, and Chapter XXXVI, p. 296.)

Mr. Ruthven Deane has written me that an examination
of the account books kept by the Audubons during the
publication of the large and small editions of _The
Birds of America_ showed partial payments on the Folio
by 23 subscribers; the only name among those not listed
in the _Ornithological Biography_ was that of J. R.
Peters, who was credited with a payment of $412.00. Mr.
Deane adds: "I have a list of the subscribers to the
1840, 8vo., edition, of 1,095 names, New York, Baltimore
and Boston taking 501; also a list of subscribers to the
_Quadrupeds of North America_, 3 volume, 8vo., edition,
of 2,004 names, New York, Boston and Charleston, South
Carolina, taking 1,102."

APPENDIX IV

AUTHENTIC LIKENESSES OF JEAN JACQUES FOUGÈRE AUDUBON

1. _1824._—Oil portrait by himself; painted at "Beech Grove,"
William Garrett Johnson's plantation, West Feliciana, Louisiana;
presented by Audubon to Mrs. Johnson; inherited by her daughter
and granddaughter, and now in possession of Dr. D. G. Murrell,
Paducah, Kentucky. Size of original, 12 by 9 inches. Reproduced in
_The Auk_, vol. iii, 1886 (see Bibliography, No. 184).

2. _1826_ (?).—Oil portrait by himself (?), 18 by 32 inches, West
Feliciana; presented by Audubon to Col. Edward Durrive's father,
later acquired by Mr. E. Curtis, and now in the possession of Mr.
Thomas P. Thompson, New Orleans.

My information concerning this doubtful portrait has been derived
entirely from Mr. Ruthven Deane, to whom its present owner recently
wrote: "My Audubon, by himself, attracts much interest, and grows more
real as time makes it familiar."

3. _1826._—Pencil sketch by himself; signed

"Audubon at Green Bank
_Almost_, Happy!!— Sepr 1826."

Made at the home of Mr. William Rathbone, Sr., and presented to
Mrs. Rathbone; now in possession of Mr. Richard R. Rathbone,
Glen-y-Menai, Anglesey; for reproduction see _The Life and
Adventures of John James Audubon_, edited by Robert Buchanan, and
Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and His Journals_.

4. _1826_ (?).—Oil portrait by W. H. Holmes, 36 by 28 inches; painted
for Audubon's friend, Walter Horton Bentley, Manchester, England,
and in possession of the Bentley family ever since. Audubon is
represented in a green coat, a crimson cloak with deep fur edging
thrown over one shoulder, and with portfolio in hand.

For information concerning this fine but little known portrait, as
well as for the photograph reproduced in Vol. I, p. 412, I am indebted
to Mr. Ruthven Deane. In 1913, Mr. John Conway Bentley, a grandson of
the former owner, formerly of Glasgow, but then living in Cheshire,
England, attempted to dispose of the Holmes portrait in this country.

5. _1826._—Oil portrait by John Syme; painted at Edinburgh, November,
1826; supposed to have been engraved by W. H. Lizars, but no trace
of painting or engraving has been found. See Maria R. Audubon,
_op. cit._, vol. i, pp. 157 and 165.

On November 27, 1826, Audubon wrote: "At twelve I went to _stand up_
for my picture, and sick enough I was of it by two; at the request of
Mr. Lizars I wear my wolf-skin coat, and if the head is not a strong
likeness, perhaps the coat may be." In writing to his son, Victor, in
1833 (see Chapter XXVII, p. 57), Audubon said: "I am glad to hear of
Kidd & Co.'s publication of Parrots, but I regret that my face should
have been there from Syme's picture, which in my estimation is none of
the best."

6. _1828._—Oil portrait painted in London by an American artist named
Parker, in August, 1828; Parker subsequently accompanied Audubon
and Swainson to Paris, where he is said to have executed portraits
of Cuvier and Redouté. On August 25, a few days before starting
on this journey, Audubon wrote: "Mr. Parker has nearly finished my
portrait, which he considers a good one, and _so do I_" (Maria R.
Audubon, _op. cit._, vol. i, p. 303). No further mention of this
painting has been found.

7. _1830-31._—Miniature painted on ivory by Frederick Cruikshank,
probably in London, and before Audubon's return to America on
August 2, 1831. This portrait has become well known through the
excellent engraving of it by C. Turner, A.R.A., first published
in London, "Jany. 12, 1835, for the Proprietor, by Robert Havell,
Print-seller, 77, Oxford Street," with Audubon's characteristic
autograph. Good copies of the original engraving have become very
rare. (See Frontispiece, Vol. I.)

Miss Maria R. Audubon possesses a very faint water-color sketch of the
original, which, as she has recently written me, "was destroyed by fire
at Shelbyville, Kentucky, with many other rare and valuable belongings
of my grandmother's, soon after her death [in 1874]."

8. _1833._—Portrait in oils by Henry Inman; half-length, natural
size; in possession of Miss Harriet B. Audubon. "Mr. Inman
has painted my Portrait in Oil, and _I say_ that it is a truer
portrait of me than even the Miniature" (see Chapter XXVII, p.
39). Engraved by H. B. Hall for the second Octavo Edition of _The
Birds of America_, published in 1856, and the same engraving has
appeared in later editions of _The Life of John James Audubon,
the Naturalist_, edited by Lucy Audubon; for reproduction of a
photograph of the original portrait, see Maria R. Audubon, _op.
cit._, vol. i, p. 206; and for reproduction of the Hall engraving,
Vol. II, p. 130, of the present work.

This portrait, like the Cruikshank miniature, has become well known
through frequent reproduction; both represent the naturalist at
the full meridian of his working powers, and are among the finest
likenesses of him extant.

9. _1834._—"John J. Audubon"; portrait drawn and engraved on steel
by J. Brown; published by Geo. Henderson, 2, Old Bailey, Ludgate
Hill, London, 1834. A poor drawing of Audubon, in hunting dress,
published with a biographical sketch, in an English edition
of Cuvier's _Le régne animal_ (see Bibliography, No. 56). This
drawing served as the basis of a wood engraving, in which Audubon
is represented as a much younger man, three-quarters length,
gun in hand, with thumb on trigger, which appeared in _Gleason's
Pictorial_ for 1852 (see Bibliography, No. 67.).

10. (Before) _1839_.—Life Mask, made in London by Robert Havell,
Junior, and formerly in his possession; acquired from his
daughters, Mrs. Amelia Jane Lockwood and Miss Marion Elington
Havell, by Mr. John E. Thayer, and by him presented to Harvard
University. For reproduction of the mask, for excellent
photographs of which I am indebted to Dr. Samuel Henshaw, Director
of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, Harvard University, see Vol.
II, p. 188.

The original was made from a dark colored plaster (?), and has a
decidedly coarse texture. Mr. Harry P. Havell, who possesses a replica
of the original in wax, writes that he obtained from the Misses Havell,
his cousins, the information that this mask was made while Audubon was
at their home in London; the matter was treated in a jocular way, as
Audubon lay upon a sofa with straws in his nose, while submitting to
the rather unpleasant ordeal of having a mold made of his countenance.
Mr. Havell, to whom I am indebted for the substance of this note, also
possesses the silver loving cup, which Audubon presented to Robert
Havell upon the completion of the second volume of his illustrations
in 1834 (see Chapter XXXII, p. 192). For notice of another mask by
O'Neill, Edinburgh, 1827, see Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._, vol. i, p.
205.

11. _1838._—Portrait in oils, three-quarters length, by George P. A.
Healy; represents Audubon in hunting shirt, with flowing collar
open at neck, knapsack at side and gun in hand (see Frontispiece,
Vol. II); painted in London upon the initiative of the artist,
still struggling for recognition.

This portrait, with a number of other paintings, was raffled at Boston,
at a later day, when it was won by the artist, who then gave it to
a former patron, Mr. Bradlee, by whom it was presented to the Boston
Society of Natural History, and it now hangs in the library of that
institution. The present reproduction is from a photograph received
through the kindness of Mr. Ruthven Deane, who still owns the negative,
which was reproduced in Mr. Healy's _Reminiscences_ (see Bibliography,
No. 197).

12. _1840-45_ (?).—Cameo, by John C. King; original intaglio, in shell,
a cast of which was given by the artist to Mr. Kennard, and is
now in possession of Mr. Frederic H. Kennard, of Boston; cast
first reproduced by C. Hart Merriam, in _The Auk_ for 1908 (see
Bibliography, No. 226).

Mr. King was a Scotch artist and sculptor, who died at Boston, April
21, 1882.

13. _1841_ (?).—Portrait in oils, full length and size, by John
Woodhouse Audubon; figure seated, with landscape background; gun
resting on arm, and dog at side. For reproduction, see Maria R.
Audubon, _op. cit._ This or the following used as the basis of a
painting by Alonzo Chappel (see No. 23).

14. _1841_ (?).—Half-length portrait in oils, natural size, by John
Woodhouse and Victor Gifford Audubon. Original presented to the
American Museum of Natural History by Mr. Fordham Morris in 1900;
for reproduction, see Vol. II, p. 226.

15. _1841_ (?).—Full-length portrait, in oils, by John Woodhouse
Audubon; original now in possession of the American Museum of
Natural History; for reproduction, see Vol. II, p. 250.

16. _1842._—Pencil sketch by Isaac Sprague (1811-1895), an artist noted
for his paintings of plants and birds. Sprague accompanied Audubon
on his expedition to the Missouri River in 1843. According to Miss
Maria R. Audubon, the original drawing is still in possession
of the Sprague family, Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. For
reproduction, see Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._

17. _1843._—Half-length portrait in oils, by John Woodhouse Audubon,
representing the naturalist as he appeared when returning from his
expedition to the Missouri River in November, 1843, with flowing
white hair and beard; he wears a green overcoat, with fur collar,
and with both hands holds a favorite gun. The original, which was
never quite finished, is now in possession of his granddaughters,
at Salem, New York. For reproduction, see Maria R. Audubon, _op.
cit._, vol. i., frontispiece.

18. _1844._—Cameo by John C. King, now known only from the photograph
made from a cast of the original intaglio, which the artist
presented to the father of Mr. O. A. Farwell, of Detroit, in 1871.

"My father and Mr. King were great friends, and on one occasion, when
father dropped into Mr. King's studio, he found Mr. Audubon sitting
for the cameo. Mr. King introduced the two gentlemen and asked them
to start a conversation, which was continued during the sitting. The
two men became so animated in their very interesting conversation that
they forgot where they were, and thus the artist was enabled to catch
the natural and striking expression of the great ornithologist." See
"The King Cameos of Audubon," by C. Hart Merriam (Bibl. No. 226), who
published the first account of this photograph, and of the previously
mentioned Kennard cast, with reproductions, in 1908. No trace of the
original cameos, which were cut in shell, has yet been found. The
Farwell photograph has been reproduced as a medallion on the covers of
the present work.

19. _1848-49_ (?).—A daguerreotype made by Brady, in New York,
probably before 1850, since it was published in that year, and a
considerable interval of time is clearly represented between this
first camera likeness and the last which was ever made of the
naturalist (see No. 20, and Vol. II, p. 280). This daguerreotype
was first published as a steel engraving by D'Avignon, in
Lester's _Gallery of Illustrious Americans_ (for which it was,
in all probability, originally made), in New York, 1850 (see
Bibliography, No. 62).

The same sun portrait was again engraved on steel (size 4¼ by 3¼
inches) by Nordheim, and published by Hermann J. Meyer, 164
William Street, New York. It also appeared as a wood engraving,
brought out by M. P.-A. Cap, in _Le Muséum D'Histoire Naturelle_,
p. 175, Paris, 1854: a better reproduction, by the same process,
was given in _Scribner's Magazine_, vol. xiii, p. 275 (see
"Audubon's Story of his Youth," by Maria R. Audubon, Bibl. No.
40), in 1893.

The original daguerreotype was finally discovered in the collections at
the National Museum, at Washington, where it had been deposited by Mrs.
Elizabeth Berthoud Grimshaw, a daughter of Mrs. Nicholas Berthoud, and
niece of Mrs. Audubon; it was again published by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt,
and Miss M. R. Audubon, in 1894 (see "The Last Portrait of Audubon,"
Bibl. No. 196). According to the writers just cited, the daguerreotype
was formerly in possession of Mrs. Gordon, a sister of Mrs. J. J.
Audubon, who gave it to the present owner.

20. _1850_ (?).—A daguerreotype, representing Audubon as he appeared
at the close of his career; original in possession of Miss Mary
Eliza Audubon; for reproduction see _Audubon and his Journals_,
vol. I, p. 74, and Vol. II, p. 280, of the present work. As to the
probable date of this picture, see the preceding notice.

21. _1851._—Death mask; profile from original, since destroyed by
fire, reproduced in _Scribner's Magazine_, vol. xiii, by Maria R.
Audubon (Bibl. No. 40), March, 1893.

22. _1851._—Profile of head; pencil sketch, after death, made by John
W. Audubon; reproduced by Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his
Journals_, vol. ii, p. 526.

23. _1861._—Oil portrait by Alonzo Chappel, engraved on steel for
Duyckinck's _National Portrait Gallery of Eminent Americans_ (see
Bibliography, No. 74), and published by Messrs. Johnson, Fry &
Company, New York, 1862.

The original of this portrait, which was evidently drawn, with slight
changes, from the large painting of the same subject by John Woodhouse
Audubon, executed about 1841 (see No. 13), is now in possession of Mr.
Ruthven Deane, who has written me that it is done in black and white,
like all of Chappel's work which was designed for the purposes of steel
engraving, and measures 12 by 17 inches. Concerning this artist, Mr.
Arthur Lumley wrote to Mr. Deane on April 26, 1905, as follows: "I knew
Chappel in my boyhood days, when he ranked next to Felix O. C. Darley
as an illustrator; at the same time he was a good portrait painter
in oil. Chappel, in many ways, was a gifted man, and his historical
pictures were fine in composition and color. He held a high rank, and
had no occasion to seek orders, having all he could do, and at his
own terms; most of his work was reproduced by steel-plate engravings":
Chappel, he adds, who died about 1875, was "a quiet, genial gentleman
who was ever ready to help and guide rising aspirants in the field of
art."

24. _1907_ (unveiled).—Bust by William Couper; unveiled at the American
Museum of Natural History, New York, December 29, 1906. Reproduced
through courtesy of the Museum, at p. 160 of Vol. II of the
present work.

25. _1910_ (unveiled).—Statue, by Edward Virginius Valentine; unveiled
in Audubon Park, New Orleans, November 26, 1910; reproduced at p.
14 of Vol. I of the present work.

APPENDIX V

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Besides the published writings of Audubon, I have included in this
Bibliography such references to his life and times as occur in the text
or which possess some degree of merit; all other important literary and
historical authorities are cited in footnotes to the text. The titles
appear in a single numerical series, but the arrangement under each
head is strictly chronological. All references to this list in the text
are indicated usually by title, with the name of the author, and always
by Arabic numerals, in correspondence with the series which follows. If
some chaff has been admitted to this garner, no corn, I hope, has been
thrown into the fire.

a. Principal Works

1. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

_The Birds of America_, from Original Drawings by John James
Audubon, Fellow of the Royal Societies of London & Edinburgh and
of the Linnæan & Zoölogical Societies of London, Member of the
Natural History Society of Paris, of the Lyceum of New York, &c.
&c. &c. 4 vols. colored plates, double elephant folio. Published
by the Author. London, 1827-1838.

Issued without text, titles excepted, to subscribers, in 87 Numbers
of 5 plates each, or 435 copper-plate engravings, colored by hand,
and representing 1,065 life-size figures of 489 supposedly distinct
species of birds. Titles the same, except that in volumes II-IV, after
"New York," in list of societies following author's name, is added,
"of the Philosophical Society and the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia." Begun at Edinburgh in autumn of 1826, and completed in
London, June 20, 1838.

A more detailed citation is:

Vol. I. Parts 1-22, pll. i- cx, 1827-30.
Vol. II. Parts 23-44, pll. cxi- ccxx, 1831-34.
Vol. III. Parts 45-66, pll. ccxxi- cccxxx, 1834-35.
Vol. IV. Parts 67-87, pll. cccxxxi-ccccxxxv, 1835-38.

More exact data on publication of individual plates are:

1827 pll. 1- 25
1828 pll. 26- 50
1829 pll. 51- 75
1830 pll. 76-100
1831 pll. 101(?)-125
1832 pll. 126-155(?)
1833 pll. 156-185
1834 pll. 186-235
1835 pll. 236-285
1836 pll. 286-350
1837 pll. 351-400
1838 pll. 400[401]-435

The first ten plates were executed by William Home Lizars, Edinburgh,
1826-7, but were later retouched or reëngraved (?) by Robert Havell,
Junior, who produced all the rest in London; printed on Whatman's
drawing paper, size (untrimmed), 39½ x 29½ inches, and colored
after the originals. A considerable number of the plain plates were
dispersed, and at least one complete set exists in this state (see
Note, Chapter XXVI, Vol. II, p. 7, and also Chapter XXXII, Vol. II,
p. 190); scientific and common names, with legends of author and
engraver, and eventually the date of publication, were given on each
plate. Issued to subscribers at two guineas a Part, and sold in Europe
at £182, 14s; in America, at $1,000. The Turkey Cock (Plate No. 1) now
brings upwards of $140, and perfect sets upwards of $4,000, according
to binding and state. Total number of original sets probably did not
exceed 190 or 200.

2. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, F. R. SS. L. & E. [with list of societies]:

_Ornithological Biography_, or an account of the habits of
the Birds of the United States of America; accompanied by
descriptions of the objects represented in the work entitled
_The Birds of America_, and interspersed with delineations
of American scenery and manners. 5 vols. roy. 8vo. Edinburgh,
1831-1839.

Vol. I (original ed.). Preface dated "March 1831." Pp. i-xxiv,
1-512, and 1-16, including "Prospectus," "Contents" to Vol.
I, and names of subscribers to _The Birds of America_. Text
to accompany plates i-c of the large folio. Adam Black, 55
North Bridge (with names of agents; Neill & Co. Printers, Old
Fishmarket), Edinburgh, MDCCCXXXI.

Vol. I (American reprint). Pagination the same. Judah Dobson,
Agent, 108 Chestnut St., and H. H. Porter, Literary Rooms, 121
Chestnut St., Philadelphia, MDCCCXXXI. Copyright by R. Harlan,
M.D., 1831. Printed by James Kay, Jun. & Co., Printers to the
American Philosophical Society, No. 4 Minor St.

Vol. I (American reprint). The same, but bearing the imprint of E.
L. Carey and A. Hart, Chestnut St., Philadelphia, MDCCCXXXV.

Vol. II (original ed.). Preface dated "1st December 1834." Pp.
i-xxxii, 1-588. Text of plates ci-cc. Adam and Charles Black.
Edinburgh, MDCCCXXXIV.

Vol. II (American reprint). The same, but with imprint of
Hilliard, Gray, and Company. Boston, MDCCCXXXV.

Vol. III (original and only ed., as are IV and V). Preface dated
"1st December 1835." Pp. i-xvi, 1-638, with 9 woodcuts. Text to
plates cci-ccc. Same imprint as Vol. II. Edinburgh, MDCCCXXXV.

Vol. IV. Preface dated "1st November 1838." Pp. i-xxviii, 1-618.
Text to plates ccci-ccclxxxvii. Imprint, the same. Edinburgh,
MDCCCXXXVIII.

Vol. V. Preface dated "1st May 1839." Pp. i-xl, 1-664, with 98
woodcuts. Text to plates ccclxxxviii-ccccxxxv. Same imprint.
Edinburgh, MDCCCXXXIX.

According to Stone, 5 species recognized in the folio are suppressed
in the "Biography"; 26 new names are given, and 502 species are
recognized, but as 11 were more or less hypothetical, 491 remain in
supposedly good standing.

3. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, F. R. SS. L. & E. Member of various scientific
associations in Europe and America:

_A Synopsis of the Birds of North America._ Pp. i-xi, 1-359. 8vo.
Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh; Longman, Rees, Brown, Green and
Longman, London. MDCCCXXXIX.

A methodical index to the birds of America, with special reference to
the large folio plates and _Ornithological Biography_; 45 families and
139 genera are defined; 5 new names are added, making the total number
of recognized species 491.

4. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, F. R. SS. L. & E. (&c., &c.):

_The Birds of America_ from Drawings made in the United States and
its Territories. 7 vols. of text and plates, roy. 8vo. Published
by the Author and J. B. Chevalier. New York and Philadelphia,
1840-1844.

The "_Birds_ in Miniature," or first octavo edition of text and plates
combined; issued to subscribers in 100 Parts, each with 5 lithographic
colored plates, at $1.00 a Part.

Vol. I. Parts 1-14; pll. 1-70; pp. i-viii, 9-256. 1840.
Vol. II. Parts 15-28; pll. 71-140; pp. i-viii, 9-206. 1841.
Vol. III. Parts 29-42; pll. 141-210; pp. i-viii, 9-236. 1841.
Vol. IV. Parts 43-56; pll. 211-280; pp. i-viii, 9-324. 1842.
Vol. V. Parts 57-70; pll. 281-350; pp. i-viii, 9-348. 1842.
Vol. VI. Parts 71-84; pll. 251[351]-420; pp. i-viii, 9-460. 1843.
Vol. VII. Pts. 85-100; pll. 421-500; pp. i-x, 9[11]-374. 1844.

In this "miniature" edition, the "delineations of American scenery
and manners" are omitted, the text revised, and the nomenclature made
to conform with the _Synopsis_; the plates of the large folio were
broken up, and their accessories reduced, so that but one species
appears on each; 7 species, described in the _Biography_ and _Synopsis_
are figured for the first time in an Appendix, in which also appear
17 species that had been neither figured nor described before, thus
bringing the total number of birds represented on the octavo plates to
500; four of the largest birds receive two plates each, thus leaving
the number of distinct species figured at 496, while the 12 species
herein described brings the total number of species recognized by
Audubon in 1844 to 508. The plates of this edition are rearranged and
renumbered to conform with the new arrangement of the text, which was
considerably improved. The series begins with the California Vulture,
and ends with Baird's Bunting.

Vols. I-V were published by J. J. Audubon, New York, and simultaneously
issued by J. B. Chevalier, Philadelphia; Vols. VI-VII, published by
J. J. Audubon, 77 Williams St., New York, and 34 North First St.,
Philadelphia.

The Numbers or Parts were issued in blue paper covers, or drab when
without plates (7 x 11 inches), on which were printed the "Prospectus,"
lists of subscribers and agents, besides other information which the
author wished to convey to his patrons. The printer's legend at the
right lower corner reads: "Lithd. Printed & Cold. by J. T. Bowen,
Philada." Parts in original covers are extremely rare; a set in this
condition was offered in 1914 at $750.

5. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, and BACHMAN, REV. JOHN:

_The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America._ 2 vols. of 150
lithographic, colored plates; imp. folio. Published by J. J.
Audubon, New York, 1845-1846.

Vol. I. Parts 1-15, pll. 1-75, 1845.
Vol. II. Parts 16-30, pll. 76-150, 1846.

Issued to subscribers in 30 Parts of 5 plates each, size 28 x 22
inches, at $10 a part, or $300, without text except titles, tables of
contents, and names on plates; 76 of the originals by J. J. Audubon,
and 74 by J. W. Audubon, assisted by V. G. Audubon. Author's and
printer's legends read: "Drawn from Nature by J. J. Audubon, F.
R. S. F. L. S.," and "Lith. Printed & Cold. by J. T. Bowen, Phila.
1842[-1845]."

6. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, F. R. S. (&c., &c.), and BACHMAN, REV. JOHN, D.
D. (&c., &c.):

_The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America._ 3 vols., roy. 8vo.
Published by J. J. Audubon and V. G. Audubon, New York, 1846-1854.

Issued to subscribers, as text to foregoing:

Vol. I. Pp. i-xvi, 1-390. Text only. Published by J. J. Audubon,
New York, 1846.

Vol. I (European ed.). The same as foregoing with imprint of Wiley
& Putnam, London, 1847.

Vol. II. Pp. 1-336. Text only. Published by V. G. Audubon, 1851.

Vol. III. Pp. i-vi, 1-350. Text, with 6 colored plates. Published
by V. G. Audubon, 1854.

7. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, F. R. S. (&c., &c.), and BACHMAN, REV. JOHN, D.
D. (&c., &c.):

_The Quadrupeds of North America_ [in "Miniature"]. 3 vols., roy.
8vo., with 155 colored plates. Published by V. G. Audubon, New
York, 1854.

Vol. I. Nos. 1-10, pll. i-l, pp. i-viii, 1-384.
Vol. II. Nos. 11-20, pll. li-c, pp. 1-334.
Vol. III. Nos. 21-31, pll. ci-clv, pp. i-vi, 1-348.

First and only edition of the text and plates reduced to octavo size;
most of the plates lithographed, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen. In
Vol. I the introduction is cut down, the list of subscribers omitted,
and tables of contents and genera placed at end; Vol. II is same as
first edition, with omission of subscribers' lists; Vol. III same
as in first edition, except for omission of table of genera at back.
All plates in Vol. I, and 28 in Vol. II, or 78 in all, are by J. J.
Audubon, and 77 are by J. W. Audubon.

8. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, F. R. S. (&c., &c.):

_The Birds of America_, from Drawings made in the United States
and their Territories. Vols. I-VII, roy. 8vo. Published by V. G.
Audubon, New York, 1856.

The second octavo edition of the _Birds_, with 500 plates, published
without change, except in pagination. The portrait of Audubon, which
appears in this or in some of the later editions, was engraved by H. B.
Hall after the painting by Henry Inman.

9. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

_The Birds of America_; from Original Drawings by John James
Audubon, Fellow of the Royal Societies of London & Edinburgh, &c.,
&c., &c. Reissued by J. W. Audubon. 1 vol. of 106 double elephant
folio plates, in chromolithography, by J. Bien, 180 Broadway,
representing 151 of the original copper plates. Roe Lockwood &
Son, Publishers. New York, 1860.

The only (and partial) reissue of the original folio; plates, in many
instances double, renumbered to correspond with the octavo edition,
with backgrounds often simplified or changed, and much inferior to
the original hand-colored engravings; the plates are dated "1858" or
"1859." Checked by the Civil War, the residual stock of plates found
a ready sale thirty years later. Citation from copy in the Public
Library, New York City. (See Appendix III, Document No. 3).

10. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

_The Birds of America_, from Drawings made in the United States
and their Territories, by John James Audubon, F. R. S., &c., &c.
Reissued by J. W. Audubon. Vols. I-VII, roy. 8vo. Text only. Roe
Lockwood & Son, Publishers. New York, 1861. Vol. I, pp. i-viii,
11-246; Vol. II, pp. i-viii, 11-200; Vol. III, pp. i-viii, 9-234;
Vol. IV, pp. i-viii, 9-322; Vol. V, pp. i-viii, 9-346; Vol. VI,
pp. i-viii, 2-456; Vol. VII (not seen).

Issued as the letterpress of the imperfect folio (see No. 9) described
above. According to Sabin, quoted by Coues (see No. 181 of this
Bibliography), only 4 royal octavo volumes of this text was issued;
the present citation is from the 6 volumes in the Public Library of
New York; all are without plates, and it should be noted that Vols. I
and II, and III and IV are bound as _two_ volumes. In 1914 a set of
this edition, in seven volumes, bound in cloth, was advertised by a
bookseller in New York at $40. (See Appendix III, Document No. 3).

11. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

_The Birds of America_ ... Reissued by J. W. Audubon, in 7 vols.,
imper. 8vo., with 500 colored plates, 10 x 7 inches. Roe Lockwood
& Son. New York, 1861.

Third complete octavo edition, to be distinguished from the 7 vols.
(No. 10) referred to above, and the V. G. Audubon reissue of 1856 (No.
8). Reference partly from Coues.

12. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

_The Birds of North America_: a popular and scientific description
of the Birds of the United States and their Territories. New
edition. New York, 1863.

Not seen, but given on the authority of Coues.

13. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

_The Birds of America_ ... 8 vols. 8vo. New York, 1865.

According to Coues, a later edition of J. W. Audubon's reissue of 1861,
but in 8 instead of 7 volumes.

14. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, F. R. S. (&c., &c.):

_The Birds of America_, from drawings made in the United States
and their Territories. Vols. I-VIII, imper. 8vo. George R.
Lockwood, late Roe Lockwood & Son, 812 Broadway, New York. No
date. (1871.) Vol. I, pp. i-viii, i-xv (memoir), 11-246, pll.
1-70; Vol. II, pp. i-vii, 11-199, pll. 71-140; Vol. III, pp.
i-viii, 9-233, pll. 141-210; Vol. IV, pp. i-viii, 9-321, pll.
211-280; Vol. V, pp. i-viii, 9-346, pll. 281-250; Vol. VI, pp.
i-vii, 9-298, pll. 351-394; Vol. VII, pp. i-vii, 9-285, pll.
395-440; Vol. VIII, pp. i-viii, 9-256, pll. 441-500. (Pagination
taken from Coues.)

Sixth and last complete octavo edition of text and plates, being
a reissue of the 1865 edition. In the biography, signed "G. R.
L[ockwood]., 1870," it is stated that Jean Audubon died "at Rochefort
on the Loire [_sic_], where he had a large estate" at the age of
ninety-five, and that J. J. Audubon was born on his father's plantation
at New Orleans in 1780. This memoir was issued separately as an
advertising pamphlet by J. L. Sibole ("Fine Book Dealer, 109 So. 15th.
Street, New York"), to exploit the octavo editions of the _Birds_ and
_Quadrupeds_ (pp. 1-15, paper cover, no date).

b. Minor Papers and Reprints

15. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"On the Hirundo fulva of Vieillot." _Annals of the Lyceum of
Natural History of New York_, vol. i, pp. 163-166. New York, 1824.

16. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Facts and Observations connected with the permanent residence of
swallows in the United States." _Annals of the Lyceum of Natural
History of New York_, vol. i, pp. 166-168. New York, 1824.

17. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES (a citizen of the United States):

"Account of the Habits of the Turkey Buzzard (_Vultur aura_)
particularly with the view of exploding the opinion generally
entertained of its extraordinary power of Smelling." In a letter
to Professor Jameson. [Note.] This communication was originally
intended to be sent to a friend unacquainted with the habits
of birds—J. J. A. _Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_, vol. 2
(Oct.-Apr.), pp. 172-184. Edinburgh, 1826-1827. Dated "Edinburgh,
Dec. 7, 1826."

18. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Observations on the Natural History of the Alligator." In a
letter to Sir William Jardine, Baronet, &c. _Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal_, vol. 2, (Oct.-April), pp. 270-280.
Edinburgh, 1826-1827.

Gives the first account of the nesting habits of the American alligator.

19. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Account of the Carrion Crow or Vultur atratus." _Edinburgh
Journal of Science_, vol. vi (Nov.-April), pp. 156-161. Edinburgh,
1826-1827.

Notices the nesting and other habits, and maintains that this species,
like the Turkey Buzzard, is guided to its food by sight and not by
smell.

20. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Notes on the Habits of the Wild Pigeon of America, Columba
migratoria." _Edinburgh Journal of Science_, vol. vi (Nov.-April),
pp. 256-265. Edinburgh, 1826-1827.

Read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh, February 19, 1827.

21. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Notes on the Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), in a letter
addressed to Thomas Stuart Traill, M. D., &c." _Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal_, vol. 3 (April-Oct.), pp. 21-30. Edinburgh,
1827.

Read before the Wernerian Society of Natural History, February 24,
1827. Reproduced in _Journal of the Franklin Institute and American
Mechanics' Magazine_, vol. ii, N. S., pp. 32-37. Philadelphia, 1828.
Later repudiated by the editor; see Thomas P. Jones, "The Romance of
the Rattlesnake," No. 93 of this Bibliography.

22. AUDUBON, J. J.:

"Account of the Method of Drawing Birds employed by J. J. Audubon,
Esq., F. R. S. E." In a letter to a friend. _Edinburgh Journal of
Science_, vol. viii, pp. 48-54. Edinburgh, 1828.

22a. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Journey up the Mississippi." _The Winter's Wreath_ for 1829, pp.
104-127. Liverpool and Philadelphia, 1828.

23. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Notes on the Bird of Washington—(Falco Washingtonia) or Great
American Sea Eagle" (with figure). _Loudon's Magazine of Natural
History_, vol. i, pp. 115-120. London, 1828-1829.

Dated "London, April, 1828."

24. AUDUBON, JOHN J.:

"The Flood of the Mississippi." _Edinburgh Literary Journal._
February, 1831, pp. 140-142.

See "Episode" entitled "A Flood," _Ornithological Biography_, vol. i.

25. AUDUBON, J. J.:

"An Account of the Habits of the American Goshawk (Falco
palumbarius, Wils.)." In a letter to Sir William Jardine, Bart.
_Edinburgh Journal of Natural and Geographical Science_, vol. 3
(March), pp. 145-147. Edinburgh, 1831.

26. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Improvements in the Navigation of the Mississippi." _Edinburgh
Literary Journal_, March 26, 1831, pp. 194-195.

See _Ornithological Biography_, vol. i.

27. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Hunting the Cougar, or the American Lion." _Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal_, vol. 11, pp. 103-115. Edinburgh, 1831.

See "The Cougar," _Ornithological Biography_, vol. i. "It having
been remarked, and rather sharply, that in our article on 'Audubon's
Ornithological Biography,' we have overrated that gentleman's talents,
we, in our own vindication, and as proofs of Audubon's descriptive
powers, submit to the judgment of our readers the above sketch, taken
at random from his work." (Editor's note.)

28. AUDUBON, J. J.:

"Account of a Hurricane in North America." _Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal_, vol. 12 (Oct.-April), pp. 278-281.
Edinburgh, 1831-1832.

See "The Hurricane," _Ornithological Biography_, vol. i.

29. AUDUBON, J. J.:

"The Ohio." _Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_, vol. 12, pp.
122-126. Edinburgh, 1832.

See the same, _Ornithological Biography_, vol. i.

30. AUDUBON, J. J., and BACHMAN, REV. JOHN, D. D.:

"Descriptions of New Species of Quadrupeds inhabiting North
America." _Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences_, vol. viii,
pt. ii, pp. 280-329. Philadelphia, 1839-1842.

Read, Oct. 5, 1841.

31. AUDUBON, J. J., and BACHMAN, J.:

"Descriptions of New Species of Quadrupeds inhabiting North
America." _Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences_, vol.
i (Oct., 1841), pp. 92-103. Philadelphia, 1843.

32. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES, and BACHMAN, JOHN:

"Description of a new North American Fox, genus Vulpes, Cuv.,
(Utah)." _Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences_, vol.
vi, pp. 114-116. Philadelphia, 1852-1853.

33. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Earthquake in Kentucky." Reproduced in _Magazine of American
History_, vol. 16, pp. 342-344, with portrait. New York, 1886.

See "The Earthquake," _Ornithological Biography_, vol. i.

c. Epistolary Articles

34. AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES:

"Letter to the Editor" (No. 1). Dated "St. Augustine, East
Florida, Dec. 7, 1831." _Monthly American Journal of Geology and
Natural Science_, vol. i, pp. 358-363. Philadelphia, 1832.

35. AUDUBON, J. J.:

"Letter from J. J. Audubon to the Editor" (No. 2). Dated
"Bulowville, East Florida, December 31, 1831." _Monthly American
Journal of Geology and Natural Science_, vol. i, pp. 407-414.
Philadelphia, 1832.

36. AUDUBON, J. J.:

"Letter to the Editor" (No. 3). _Monthly American Journal
of Geology and Natural Science_, vol. i (June), pp. 529-537.
Philadelphia, 1832.

37. AUDUBON, J. J.:

"Letter from J. J. Audubon to William MacGillivray." _Edinburgh
Journal of Natural History_, vol. i (for Dec., 1838), p. 171.
Edinburgh, 1835-1839.

Dated, "On board the Crusader, Cote Blanche, 18 April, 1837."

d. Translations

38. BAZIN, EUGÈNE:

_Scènes de la Nature dans les Etats-Unis et le Nord de
l'Amérique._ Ouvrage traduit d'Audubon, avec Preface et Notes du
Traducteur. T. 1-2, pp. 1-460, 1-512. 8vo. Paris, 1857.

Selections from the _Ornithological Biography_, with Introduction;
dedicated to Charles Lucien Bonaparte.

39. (ANON.):

"Drei Ziegenmelker Nordamerika's." _Naumannia: Archiv für die
Ornithologie, vorzugsweise Europas_, herausg. von E. Baldamus, pp.
158-163. Stuttgart und Leipzig, 1858.

e. Autobiography

40. AUDUBON, MARIA R.:

"Audubon's Story of his Youth." _Scribner's Magazine_, vol. xiii,
pp. 267-287, illust. New York, 1893.

First appearance of autobiographical sketch, entitled, "Myself, J. J.
Audubon." Reproduced also in _Audubon and his Journals_ (see No. 86),
vol. i.

f. Journals

41. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"Extracts from an Unpublished Journal of John James Audubon." _The
Auk_, vol. xxi, pp. 334-338. Cambridge, 1904.

Including entries for fourteen days, extending from October 12, 1820,
to November 25, 1821.

42. (ANON.):

"A Story of Meadville from John J. Audubon, F. R. S., August 28,
1824." Pamphlet (in blue paper cover), pp. 1-4. Dated April 9th,
1846.

An early version, taken from the original journal, and probably given
by Audubon himself to some of his friends, possibly Spencer F. Baird,
who visited him in both early and late April of this year. For passages
not since reproduced, see Vol. I, p. 341. Citation from copy in the
Public Library, New York City.

For fuller journal records, see _Audubon and his Journals_ (No. 86),
including "European Journals," (1826-1827), vol. i, pp. 79-242; the
"Labrador Journal," 1833, vol. i, pp. 343-446; and the "Missouri River
Journals," 1843, vol. i, pp. 447-532, and vol. ii, pp. 1-196.

g. Familiar Letters

43. COUES, ELLIOTT:

"Behind the Veil." _Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club_, vol. v,
pp. 193-204. Cambridge, 1880.

Gives interesting letters by Audubon and MacGillivray, which are
reproduced in the present work.

44. GORDON, MRS.:

_"Christopher North": A Memoir of John Wilson._ New York, 1894.

For letter of J. J. Audubon to J. Wilson, no date [Jany. 1, 1836], see
pp. 363-364.

45. SHUFELDT, R. W., and AUDUBON, M. R.:

"The Last Portrait of Audubon, together with a Letter to his Son."
_The Auk_, vol. xi, pp. 309-313. New York, 1894.

46. RHOADS, S. N.:

"Auduboniana," _The Auk_, vol. xx, pp. 377-383. Cambridge, 1903.

Gives three letters to Edward Harris, partly reproduced in the present
work.

47. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"Unpublished Letters of John James Audubon and Spencer F. Baird,"
_The Auk_, vol. xxi, pp. 255-259. Cambridge, 1904.

First installment.

48. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

(a) "A Hitherto Unpublished Letter of John James Audubon," _The
Auk_, vol. xxii, pp. 170-171. Cambridge, 1905.

(b) See also "An Unpublished Letter of John James Audubon to his
Family," _The Auk_, vol. xxv, pp. 166-169. Cambridge, 1908.

49. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"Unpublished Letters of John James Audubon and Spencer F. Baird,"
I, _The Auk_, vol. xxiii, pp. 194-209. Cambridge, 1906.

Second installment.

50. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"Unpublished Letters of John James Audubon and Spencer F. Baird,"
II, _The Auk_, vol. xxiii, pp. 318-334. Cambridge, 1906.

Third installment.

51. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"Unpublished Letters of John James Audubon and Spencer F. Baird,"
III, _The Auk_, vol. xxiv, pp. 53-70. Cambridge, 1907.

Fourth installment.

52. DALL, WILLIAM HEALEY:

_Spencer Fullerton Baird: A Biography._ Pp. i-xvi, 1-462. 8vo. 19
illust. Philadelphia and London, 1915.

Reproduces eighteen letters of Audubon to Baird, dating from June 13,
1840, to February 11, 1847.

53. THAYER, JOHN E.:

"Auduboniana," _The Auk_, vol. xxxiii, pp. 115-118, 4 plates.
Cambridge, 1916.

Reproduces four original water-color drawings, and two letters
addressed to Dr. George Parkman, dated "New York, June 20th," and
"August 13th 1841."

54. GRINNELL, GEORGE BIRD:

"Some Audubon Letters," _The Auk_, vol. xxxiii, pp. 119-130.
Cambridge, 1916.

Gives two letters written to Victor G. Audubon from New York, April 28
and Sept. 9, 1833.

* * * * *

See also _Caledonian Mercury_, November 3, 1831, for letter to Joseph
B. Kidd (No. 163), Brewer (No. 79), Bachman (No. 191), Günther (No.
204), Deane (No. 225), and Alexander Bliss, in _Autograph Leaves of our
Country's Authors_, for facsimile letter of Audubon to Thomas Sully,
dated "Manchester (England), Sept. 16, 1826" (Baltimore, 1864).

h. Biographies

55. CHRISTOPHER NORTH (JOHN WILSON):

"Noctes Ambrosianae," No. XXX, _Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine_,
vol. xxi (Jan.), pp. 112-105 (_sic_). Edinburgh, 1827.

56. (ANON.):

"Biographical Sketch of John James Audubon," with portrait
(drawn and engraved by J. Brown); insert in G. Cuvier and P. A.
Latreille, _The Animal Kingdom_, vol. i, pp. 197*-204*. London,
1830.

57. LANDER, SIR THOMAS DICK, BART., and BROWN, CAPT. THOMAS:

_Biographical Sketch_, with engravings by Joseph B. Kidd. Pp. i-x,
1-184, 16mo. Edinburgh, 1833.

Mainly extracted from vol. i of the _Ornithological Biography_; refers
to the false rumor of Audubon's death in October, 1831, and to his
plan of forming a Gallery of Paintings in Natural History, started in
association with Kidd.

58. (ANON.):

"Biographical Sketch of J. J. Audubon." _Miscellany of Natural
History_, vol. i. 1833.

Not seen.

59. DUNLAP, WILLIAM:

_History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the
United States._ 2 vols. New York, 1834. For John James Audubon,
see vol. ii, pp. 402-408.

60. (ANON.) GODWIN, PARKE:

"John James Audubon." _United States Magazine and Democratic
Review_, N. S., vol. x, pp. 436-450. New York, 1842.

See also _Out of the Past; Critical and Literary Papers_, pp. 89-110
(New York, 1870), and _Homes of American Authors_; for the last, see
No. 68.

61. GRISWOLD, RUFUS W.:

_The Prose Writers of America_, article "Audubon." Philadelphia,
1847.

62. LESTER, C. EDWARDS (editor):

_The Gallery of Illustrious Americans_, containing the Portraits
and Biographical Sketches of Twenty-four of the most eminent
Citizens of the American Republic since the death of Washington.
Plates from daguerreotypes by Brady; engraved by D'Avignon.
Published from 205 Broadway, New York, by G. P. Putnam, D.
Appleton & Company, and C. S. Francis & Company. New York, 1850.

Issued in 24 Parts. For John James Audubon, see Part No. 7; reproduced
in Spooner's _Biographical History of the Fine Arts_, vol. i, pp. 53-55
(New York, 1867). See also No. 196.

63. PHILARÈTE-CHASLES:

_Etudes sur la Littérature et les Moeurs des Anglo-Américains au
xixe siècle._ Pp. i-viii, 1-516. Paris, 1851. See "Audubon. Le
Voyageur et le Naturaliste," pp. 68-106.

An excellent review by an experienced French critic and author, who
appears to have met Audubon and to have attended one of his exhibitions
in Edinburgh.

64. (ANON.) THORPE, COL. THOMAS B.:

"Incidents in the Life of Audubon," _Godey's Lady's Book_, vol.
xlii, pp. 306-309, with portrait. Philadelphia, 1851.

65. GRISWOLD, RUFUS W.:

"John James Audubon," _International Monthly Magazine_, vol. ii,
pp. 469-474. New York, 1850-1851.

66. CAP, P. A.:

"Jean Jacques Audubon," _L'Illustration_, vol. xviii, pp. 70-71,
illust. Paris, 1851.

67. (ANON.):

"Audubon, the Naturalist," _Gleason's Pictorial_, vol. iii, p.
196, with portrait of Audubon as a young man. Boston, Sept. 25,
1852.

Audubon is said to have been born in New Orleans, May 4, 1780, and "in
1810 he embarked in a skiff with his wife and young child for his only
companions, and with his gun and pencil for baggage, and commenced an
adventurous and wandering life—the life of a hunter and naturalist,
which he did not abandon until 1834."

68. GODWIN, PARKE:

"John James Audubon," in _The Homes of American Authors_. New
York, 1853.

See also "The Home of Audubon," _The Leisure Hour_, vol. 2, pp. 300-303
(London, 1853), and _Little Journeys to the Homes of American Authors_,
New York and London, 1896.

69. SMILES, SAMUEL:

_Brief Biographies._ Boston, 1861. See "Audubon the
Ornithologist," pp. 171-197.

70. ST. JOHN, MRS. HORACE:

_Life of Audubon, the Naturalist in the New World. His Adventures
and Discoveries._ Pp. i-xiv, 1-172. London, 1856.

71. ST. JOHN, MRS. HORACE:

_Life of Audubon, the Naturalist of the New World. His Adventures
and Discoveries._ Revised and corrected, with additions, and
illustrated with engravings by J. W. Orr from original designs.
Pp. 1-24, 1-312. Boston, 1856.

First American edition, followed by others in 1861, 1864, 1870, 1876
and later; citation from edition of 1864.

72. BUCHANAN, ROBERT (editor):

_The Life and Adventures of John James Audubon, the Naturalist._
Edited from materials supplied by his widow. 8vo. Pp. i-viii,
1-366. Portrait and vignette on title. London, 1868.

This was followed by a second and third English edition in 1869, the
latter without frontispiece, but with vignette stamped on cover. The
editor assumed no responsibility for the fidelity of his record, which
was based on a manuscript by the Rev. Charles Coffin Adams, of New
York. Reproduced in "Everyman's Library," with an Introduction by John
Burroughs (originally appearing as a review of Buchanan's work in 1869;
see No. 153). 12mo. Pp. i-xx, 1-336. London and New York (no date).

73. AUDUBON, LUCY (editor):

_The Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist._ Edited by his
Widow. With an Introduction by James Grant Wilson. 8vo. Pp. i-x,
1-444. Portrait, and vignette on title. New York, 1869.

Reprinted at various times; citation from a copy bearing date of 1906.
This work is a reproduction, with but slight changes, of Buchanan's
rendering of the original Adams manuscript.

74. DUYCKINCK, EVERT AUGUSTUS:

"John James Audubon," in the _National Portrait Gallery of Eminent
Americans_, illustrated from paintings by Alonzo Chappel. 2 vols.,
4to. New York, 1862.

For Audubon, see vol. i, pp. 47-54.

75. PARTON, JAMES:

_Peoples' Book of Biography, or Short Lives of the most
interesting Persons of all Ages and Countries._ Hartford, 1869.
For Audubon, see pp. 163-167.

A second edition appeared under the title _Illustrious Men and their
Achievements_, &c. (New York, 1881).

76. (ANON.):

"Audubon," _Chambers' Journal_, vol. 46, pp. 85-89. London and
Edinburgh, 1869.

A compilation from Buchanan's _Life_.

77. (ANON.):

"The Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist," _Harper's New
Monthly Magazine_, vol. xxxix, pp. 613-614. New York, 1869.

78. AUDUBON, MARIA R.:

"Reminiscences of Audubon by a Granddaughter," _Scribner's Monthly
Magazine_, vol. xiii, pp. 333-336. New York, 1876.

79. BREWER, THOMAS M.:

"Reminiscences of John James Audubon," _Harper's New Monthly
Magazine_, vol. lxi, pp. 666-675. New York, 1880.

Reproduces a number of interesting letters.

80. (ANON.) LARRABEE, W. H.:

"Sketch of J. J. Audubon," _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. xxxi,
pp. 687-697, with portrait. New York, 1887.

See also reprint in _Pioneers of Science in America. Sketches of their
lives and Scientific Work._ From the _Popular Science Monthly_, with
additions. "John James Audubon, 1780-1851," pp. 152-156. New York,
1896.

81. PENTZ, JACOB:

"The Audubons." _Shooting and Fishing_, May 11, 1893, illust. New
York.

Interesting reminiscences and portraits of John Woodhouse Audubon and
his family, with whom the author lived for a number of years.

82. ELLIOT, DANIEL GIRAUD:

"The Life and Services of John James Audubon," _Transactions of
the New York Academy of Sciences_, vol. xiii, pp. 43-57. New York,
1893.

An address delivered before the New York Academy of Sciences, April 26,
1893.

83. GODWIN, PARKE:

"John James Audubon," in _Commemorative Addresses_, pp. 149-192.

An interesting sketch by one who had known Audubon as early as 1842,
but replete with errors in dates and questions of fact; condensed from
earlier papers. See Nos. 60 and 68.

84. MITCHELL, DONALD G.:

_American Lands and Letters._ 2 vols. London, 1897, 1899. For
Audubon, see vol. i, pp. 204-213.

85. BRADFORD, MARY FLUKER:

_Audubon._ Pp. 1-72, illust. New Orleans, 1897.

Originally read before the Quarante Club, and privately printed in the
interests of a fund for the erection of a monument to Audubon in New
Orleans, a project which has since been realized (see Vol. I, p. 13).

86. AUDUBON, MARIA R.:

_Audubon and His Journals_, with zoölogical and other notes by
Elliott Coues. With 37 Illustrations, including 10 Portraits
of Audubon, and 3 hitherto unpublished Bird Drawings. 2 vols.,
8vo. Vol. i, pp. i-xiv, 1-532; vol. ii, pp. i-viii, 1-554. With
reproduction of diplomas, etc. New York, 1898.

The first volume of this excellent work is devoted to a biography of
the naturalist, pp. 1-78, and to his Journals (see No. 42); the second
continues the Journals, and reproduces most of the "Episodes" from the
_Ornithological Biography_.

87. BURROUGHS, JOHN:

_John James Audubon._ Pp. i-xviii, 1-144. With portrait. 16mo. and
(large paper) 8vo. Boston. 1902.

Citation from second edition of 1904.

88. MERRIAM, C. HART:

"John James Audubon," _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. lxx, pp.
301-303, with portrait. New York, 1907.

Delivered on the occasion of the unveiling of marble busts of ten
eminent scientific men at the American Museum of Natural History,
December 29, 1906.

89. MERRIAM C. HART:

"John James Audubon," _Bird Lore_, vol. 9, pp. 3-5. New York,
1907.

89a. STONE, WITMER:

"John James Audubon," in _Leading American Men of Science_, ed. by
David Starr Jordan, pp. 71-87. New York, 1910.

90. BAKEWELL, REV. GORDON:

"Reminiscences of John James Audubon." _Publications of the
Louisiana Historical Society_, vol. v, pp. 31-41. New Orleans,
1911.

An address delivered before the Louisiana Historical Society, November
16, 1910. Affirms, on the testimony of Bernard de Marigny, that Audubon
was a Louisianian by birth. See Vol. I, p. 69 of the present work.

i. Reviews and Criticism

91. (ANON.) BREWSTER, DAVID:

"Mr. Audubon's Ornithology of the United States of America,"
_Edinburgh Journal of Science_, vol. vi, p. 184. Edinburgh,
1826-1827.

This highly commendatory paper by David Brewster, and that by Robert
Jameson, which follows, gives the first formal announcement of
Audubon's work in the scientific journals of the day.

92. (ANON.) JAMESON, ROBERT:

"Mr. Audubon's great work on Birds of the United States of
America," _Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_, vol. 2, pp.
210-211. Edinburgh, 1826-1827.

The editor stated that Audubon had spent twenty-two years in the
study of American birds, and that the engravings, of which several
had already appeared, would be accompanied by a quarto volume of
letterpress, containing all his observations on the natural history of
the species, in the form of letters, an example of which was given in
the paper on the Turkey Buzzard in the present number of that _Journal_
(see No. 17).

93. (ANON.) JONES, THOMAS P.:

"The Romance of the Rattlesnake," _Franklin Journal and
American Mechanics' Magazine_, vol. ii (August), N. S., p. 144.
Philadelphia, 1828.

This notorious attack upon Audubon's veracity was followed by Waterton
(see No. 115), and referred to by Victor Audubon (see No. 118), in his
reply. Audubon's original article (see No. 21) was published by this
editor, who knew so little of its author that not even his name was
given correctly.

93a. CUVIER, GEORGES:

"Rapport verbal fait à L'Académie Royale des Sciences, sur
L'Histoire naturelle des Oiseaux de L'Amérique Septemtrionale, de
M. Audubon," _Le Moniteur_, 1re. octobre. Paris, 1828.

For extracts from Cuvier's report, see Chapter XXIII, p. 413.

94. (ANON.):

"Ueber die Abbildungen von Vögeln," in Froriep, _Notizen_, Bd.
xxi, col. 49-54. Berlin, 1828.

95. W [ILLIAM]. S[WAINSON].:

"Some Account of the Work now publishing by Mr. Audubon,"
_Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol. i, pp. 43-52 (May).
London, 1828-1829.

Dated at "Tittenhanger Green. April 11, 1828." A highly laudatory
article on Audubon's plates, quoted in his "Prospectus" of _The Birds
of America_.

96. (ANON.):

"Report of a committee appointed by the Lyceum of Natural History
of New York to examine the splendid work of Mr. Audubon upon the
Birds of North America; May, 1829," _American Journal of Science
and Arts_, vol. xvi, pp. 353-354. New Haven, 1829.

Applauds _The Birds of America_, and recommends that the Lyceum become
a subscriber.

97. "ORNITHOPHILUS":

"Remarks on Audubon's Birds of America, and Ornithological
Biography," _Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_, vol. 10, pp.
317-332. Edinburgh, 1830-1831.

A highly favorable and elaborate review, mistakenly attributed to
Swainson. Reprinted in the _National Gazette and Literary Register_,
vol. xii (June 10), Philadelphia, 1831. In an editorial note it is
said that the _Ornithological Biography_ is about to be reprinted in
Philadelphia by James Kay, Jr., & Company.

98. CHRISTOPHER NORTH (JOHN WILSON):

"Audubon's Ornithological Biography Introduction," _Blackwood's
Edinburgh Magazine_, vol. xxx, pp. 1-16 (July). Edinburgh, 1831.

The second of Wilson's articles in praise of Audubon; reprinted with
his later reviews of the same work in _Critical and Miscellaneous
Essays_, vol. v, pp. 91-149.

99. CHRISTOPHER NORTH (JOHN WILSON):

"Audubon's Ornithological Biography. Second Survey. Wilson's
American Ornithology," _Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine_, vol. xxx,
pp. 247-280. Edinburgh, 1831.

100. (ANON.):

"Ornithological Biography ... By John James Audubon. &c. &c.
Edinburgh, 1831," _Edinburgh Literary Journal or Weekly Register
of Criticism and Belles Lettres_, April 16, 1831, pp. 248-249.

101. (ANON.) FEATHERSTONHAUGH, G. W.:

"Ornithological Biography." By John James Audubon, F. R. S.
Published by Judah Dobson and H. H. Porter, Literary Rooms,
Philadelphia," _Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural
Science_, vol. i, September, pp. 136-139. Philadelphia, 1831.

102. (ANON.):

"Ornithological Biography," _American Quarterly Review_, vol. x,
pp. 245-258. Philadelphia, 1831.

103. (ANON.):

"The Birds of America ... By John James Audubon, F. R. S. ... vol.
i, folio. London, 1831. Ornithological Biography ... 1 vol. 8vo.
Edinburgh, 1831," _Quarterly Review_, vol. xlvii, pp. 332-366.
London, 1832.

In the same article are reviewed Jameson's edition of Wilson's
_American Ornithology_, and Part II of Swainson's and Richardson's
_Fauna Boreali-Americana_.

104. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"On the Faculty of Scent of the Vulture," _Loudon's Magazine of
Natural History_, vol. v (April), pp. 233-241. London, 1832.

Signed "Walton Hall, Dec. 21, 1831"; the first of nineteen critical and
polemical articles extending over a period of five years, and directed
against Audubon and his friends.

105. (ANON.) PEABODY, W. B. O.:

"Audubon's Biography of Birds. Ornithological Biography of Birds
... Philadelphia, 1831," _North American Review_, vol. xxxiv, pp.
364-405 (April). Boston, 1832.

The first of three able articles by the same anonymous writer which
appeared in this _Review_. See Nos. 130 and 143.

106. (ANON.) FEATHERSTONHAUGH, G. W.:

"Audubon, Author of The Birds of America, and Ornithological
Biography," _Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural
Science_, vol. i, pp. 456-468 (April). Philadelphia, 1832.

A laudatory review, in which the author professes to give "a true
history of a conspiracy, got up to utterly break down and ruin the
reputation of one of the most remarkable men America ever produced."

107. ABERT, JOHN:

"Habits of Climbing of the Rattle-snake. Extract of a letter from
Col. Abert, of the U. S. Topographical Engineers, to Dr. Harlan
of Philadelphia," _Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural
Science_, vol. i, pp. 221-223. Philadelphia, 1832.

Dated "Washington, Oct. 21, 1831." Supports Audubon's account of the
climbing habits of the rattlesnake, which had become the subject of
acrimonious dispute.

108. (ANON.):

"Audubon," _The Athenæum_, vol. for 1833, pp. 817-818. London,
1833.

In number for November 23. An account, partly from private sources and
partly from a New York newspaper, of Audubon's present researches and
plans, with detailed comment on his Florida and Labrador expeditions.

109. HUNTER, PERCEVAL:

"Means by which the Vulture (Vultur Aura, L.) traces its Food,"
_Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol. vi, pp. 83-88.
London, 1833.

Dated "Oxford, Jul. 2, 1832." Defends Audubon's account of lack of
sense of smell in the Vulture, published in 1826 (see No. 17).

110. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"The Means by which the Turkey Buzzard traces its Food," _Loudon's
Magazine of Natural History_, vol. vi, pp. 162-163. London, 1833.

Signed "Walton Hall, Jany. 1, 1833." A caustic reply to the last.
Reprinted in _Essays in Natural History, chiefly Ornithology_, First
Series. London, 1838.

111. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"Remarks on Mr. Audubon's Account of the 'Habits of the Turkey
Buzzard (Vultur Aura), particularly with the View of exploding
the Opinion generally entertained of its extraordinary Powers of
Smelling,'" _Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol. vi, pp.
163-171. London, 1833.

A characteristically flippant article, ending thus: "But here I will
stop: I have been too long on carrion,—'_neque enim toluare vaporem
ulterius potui_' (Ovid Met., ii, 301)."

112. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"The Gland on the Rump of Birds," _Loudon's Magazine of Natural
History_, vol. vi, pp. 274-277. London, 1833.

Denial that birds ever oil their feathers in preening, as Audubon had
maintained for the eagle. Reprinted, with many controversial articles,
which follow, in _Essays on Natural History_, First Series, referred to
above.

113. AUDUBON, V. G.:

"[Mr. Audubon, Jr.] in Reply to Mr. Waterton's Remarks on
Audubon's Biography of Birds," _Loudon's Magazine of Natural
History_, vol. vi, p. 369. London, 1833.

Signed "121 Great Portland St., Jn. 7, 1833." Victor Audubon's defense
of his father, who was then in America.

114. R[OBERT] B[AKEWELL]:

"Observations on Mr. Waterton's Attacks on Mr. Audubon," _Loudon's
Magazine of Natural History_, vol. vi, pp. 369-372. London, 1833.

Signed "Hampstead, Jn. 10, 1833."

115. WATERTON, CHARLES:

[Mr. Waterton in reply to Mr. Audubon, Jun.], _Loudon's Magazine
of Natural History_, vol. vi, pp. 464-465. London, 1833.

Signed "Walton Hall, July 6, 1833"; Refers to Dr. Jones' "Romance of
the Rattlesnake" (see No. 93), and quotes a letter by George Ord, in
explaining why Swainson did not write the "Biography of Birds."

116. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"Mr. Audubon again," _Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol.
vi, pp. 465-468. London, 1833.

A reply to Robert Bakewell, in which the author says that his only
object in attacking Audubon was to defend his own account of the
vulture.

117. SWAINSON, WILLIAM:

"Mr. Audubon, and his Work, the 'Biography of Birds': Mr. Swainson
in reply to Mr. Waterton," _Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_,
vol. vi, p. 550. London, 1833.

Dated Sept. 17, 1832.

118. AUDUBON, V. G.:

"Mr. Audubon, and his Work, the 'Biography of Birds': Mr. Audubon,
jun., in Reply to Mr. Waterton," _Loudon's Magazine of Natural
History_, vol. vi, pp. 550-553. London, 1833.

Signed "121 Great Portland, Sept. 19, 1833." Quotes articles by Jones,
Featherstonhaugh and Abert; see Nos. 93, 101, 106 and 107.

119. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"Retrospective Criticism," embracing the following minor
articles: "Mr. Audubon, and his Work, the Biography of Birds"
(signed "Walton Hall, Nov. 7, 1833); "Mr. Audubon, jun."; "Aerial
Encounter of the Eagle and the Vulture" (see the "Biography of
Birds," vol. i, p. 163) (signed "Walton Hall, Nov. 7, 1833");
"Audubon's Humming-bird" (see the "Biography of Birds," vol. i, p.
248) ("Walton Hall, Nov. 19, 1833"); "The Virginian Partridge,"
_Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol. vii, pp. 66-74.
London, 1834.

The three last reprinted in _Essays on Natural History_, First Series,
referred to above.

120. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"Retrospective Criticism," embracing the following minor articles:
"The Vulture's Nose" ("Walton Hall, March 6, 1834"); "Audubon's
Claim to the Authorship of the Biography of Birds"; "Audubon and
his Ornithology"; "The Passenger Pigeon" ("Walton Hall, Jany.
19, 1834"). _Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol. vii, pp.
276-283. London, 1834.

The first and last articles reprinted in _Essays on Natural History_,
First Series, referred to above.

121. (ANON.):

"The Birds of America. No. XXXVII. By J. J. Audubon, Esq. Coloured
Plates. Elephant folio. London, Havell," _Athenæum_, vol. for
1834, p. 350 (May 10). London, 1834.

At the same time was also reviewed Part ii of _A Manual of the
Ornithology of the United States_, by Thomas Nuttall.

122. (ANON.):

"The Birds of America. By J. J. Audubon, F.R.S., F.L.S. Parts
XLI, XLII, XLIII. London, Havell," _Athenæum_, vol. for 1834, pp.
653-654. London, 1834.

Describes the Wood Duck (Plate ccvi) as perfect, and compliments the
engraver, Robert Havell, on "the accuracy with which he has appreciated
and retained the spirit of the originals."

123. (ANON.) HALL, JAMES:

"American Ornithology," _The Western Monthly Magazine_, vol. ii,
pp. 337-350 (July). Cincinnati, 1834.

A comparative review of the ornithological works of Alexander Wilson,
Thomas Nuttall, and John James Audubon, very laudatory of the first two
but condemnatory of the last, by Judge Hall, whose brother, Harrison
Hall, was an interested publisher of Wilson's work. "How shall we
venture to dissent from the almost unanimous expression of public
sentiment, which has set him [Audubon] up as a sort of 'greatest
and best,' against whom to speak in dispraise, would be a species of
treason. Yet it must be done, and it is our vocation to do it: the
critic must not be silent when the interests of science require, and
the honor of his country demands, that he should proclaim the truth....
The exaggerations contained in these sketches ["Episodes"] are such as
to weaken our confidence in the entire work."

124. BACHMAN, JOHN:

"Retrospective Criticism. Remarks in defence of the Author of the
Birds of America," _Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol.
vii, pp. 164-175. London, 1834.

A reply to Waterton, and an appeal for as much justice for Audubon
as was shown to Wilson, his predecessor. Dated "Charleston, Dec. 31,
1833."

125. BACHMAN, JOHN:

"An account of some experiments made on the habits of the Vultures
inhabiting Carolina,—the Turkey Buzzard and the Carrion Crow,
particularly as it regards the extraordinary powers of smelling
usually attributed to them," _Journal of the Boston Society of
Natural History_, vol. i, pp. 15-31. Boston, 1834.

Bachman did not deny the power of smell to the vultures, but maintained
that they were guided to their prey by sight alone.

126. (ANON.):

"Audubon's Birds of America and Ornithological Biography,"
_Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_, January, 1835.

"All is life, health, and beauty. Never before were birds so
represented, and if ever again they will be, still Audubon will
be the chief of a school, of whom it will be said that it studied
nature. Turn now to any volume of plates that you can find, and
what presents itself? not a bird surely, but an effigy stuffed
with straw, and more worthy of being burnt, than that of a Tory
statesman by a radical mob."

127. BACHMAN, JOHN:

"Defence of Audubon," _Bucks County Intelligencer_, 1835.

Not seen.

128. (ANON.):

"Ornithological Biography ... Volume ii, published at 25s.,"
_Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol. viii, pp. 184-190.
London, 1835.

129. TAYLOR, RICHARD C.:

"On the Geology and Natural History of the North-Eastern Extremity
of the Alleghany Mountain Range, in Pennsylvania, United States,"
_Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol. viii, pp. 529-541.
London, 1835.

Confirms Audubon's account of the climbing habits of the rattlesnake.

130. (ANON.) PEABODY, W. B. O.:

"Audubon's Biography of Birds; Ornithological Biography," _North
American Review_, vol. xli, pp. 194-231. Boston, 1835.

131. CHRISTOPHER NORTH (JOHN WILSON):

"Audubon's Ornithological Biography," _Blackwood's Edinburgh
Magazine_, vol. 37, pp. 107-124. Edinburgh, 1835.

132. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"On Snakes, their Fangs, and their Mode of procuring Food,"
_Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_, vol. viii, pp. 663-668.
London, 1835.

Reprinted in _Essays on Natural History_, First Series, referred to
above.

133. WATERTON, CHARLES, Esquire, of Walton-Hall:

"A Letter to James [Robert] Jameson, Esq." [followed by 21
lines of fine print, giving titles and membership in scientific
societies]. Pp. 1-14. Wakefield, 1835.

Privately printed, and designed mainly to hit Audubon and his snake
stories over Jameson's shoulders. Signed, "Walton-Hall, January 27,
1835." "Should you honor me—— with a reply, I promise you that I will
take an immediate and dispassionate notice of it; and I will address
to you a second, a third, and a fourth letter, and so on. As you have
first attacked me through Audubon, through him I will continue to point
my dart at you.... This mode of carrying on the warfare will answer
well my ends. It will give me an opportunity of again bringing on the
stage certain individuals with whom I have not yet quite squared up
accounts; and, at the same time, I trust it will be to you a kind ...
of hint, a warning—lest you make another false step in your exertions
to sound again in the public ear, O Candour! whither art thou fled?
Certainly not to Walton Hall.... Pray, sir, where were your brains
(whither had _they_ fled? Certainly not to Walton Hall) when you
received, and approved of, a narrative at once so preposterous and so
palpably fictitious?" Reprinted in _Essays on Natural History_, edited
by Norman Moore (London, 1871). Citation from pamphlet in Library of
British Museum.

134. WATERTON, CHARLES, Esquire, of Walton-Hall:

"Second Letter to Robert Jameson, Esq." [with same titles as in
last]. Pp. 1-16. Wakefield, 1835.

Ridicules in particular Audubon's accounts of the Vulture,
the Passenger Pigeon, and a hurricane in North America. Signed
"Walton-Hall. March 2nd, 1835."

135. WATERTON, CHARLES:

"Audubon's Plates of the Birds of America," _Loudon's Magazine of
Natural History_, vol. viii, pp. 236-238. London, 1835.

Accuses Audubon of misrepresentation in his statements of the time
required to produce his drawings.

136. (ANON.):

"Ornithological Biography, or an Account of the Habits of the
Birds of the United States of America ... By J. J. Audubon. vol.
ii &c. First Notice," _Athenæum_, London, January 3, 1835, pp.
5-7.

The same: "Second Notice," _Athenæum_, January 17, pp. 43-45.

The same: "Third Notice," _Athenæum_, January 31, pp. 87-89.

"There is amply sufficient remaining in Audubon's pages, for fully a
dozen more notices, were we disposed to follow the exhausting system."

137. (ANON.):

"Ornithological Biography ... vol. iii, First Notice," _Athenæum_,
pp. 41-42, January 16, 1836. London.

The same: "Second Notice," _Athenæum_, January 23, 1836, pp.
62-63.

138. WATERTON, CHARLES, Esq., Walton-Hall:

"An Ornithological Letter to William Swainson, Esq., F.R.S. &c.
&c." Pp. 1-16. Wakefield (Richard Nichols, Bookseller), 1837.

Signed "Walton-Hall, March 10, 1837," and reprinted in Moore's edition
of _Essays on Natural History_, referred to above. A long and bitter
tirade against both Swainson and Audubon. "You have seen fit to laud
one man exceedingly, for his zoological acquirements, who to my certain
knowledge, paid other people for the letterpress and drawings, which
were to appear in his work." Citation from pamphlet in British Museum
Library.

139. (ANON.):

"Ornithological Biography ... by John James Audubon. vols. i-iii,"
Oken's _Isis_, Bd. xxx, pp. 922-928. Leipzig, 1837.

140. SELLS, W.:

"On the Habits of the Vultur aura, with notes on the dissections
of the two heads of two specimens by R. Owen," _Proceedings of the
Zoological Society of London_, Pt. v, pp. 33-35. London, 1837.

Favors the view that the vulture is guided to food by the sense of
smell.

141. (ANON.):

"Ornithological Biography ... vol. iv...." _Athenæum_, London,
Dec. 1, 1838, pp. 849-852.

142. (ANON.):

"Ornithological Biography ... vol. v...." _Athenæum_, London, vol.
for 1839, p. 77.

143. (ANON.) PEABODY, W. B. O.:

"Audubon's Ornithological Biography," _North American Review_,
vol. i, pp. 381-404 (April). Boston, 1840.

144. (ANON.):

"Audubon's Ornithology. A Synopsis of the Birds of North America.
Edinburgh, 1839. The Birds of America. London and Edinburgh, vol.
1. New York, 1840," _American Journal of Sciences and Arts_, vol.
xxxix, pp. 343-357. New Haven, 1840.

145. ORD, GEORGE:

[Reply to Audubon's charge against Wilson, and countercharge
against Audubon.] _Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society_, vol. 1, pp. 272-273. Philadelphia, 1840.

Report of meeting held September 18, 1840.

146. (ANON.):

"The Birds of America ... vol. ii, octavo edition ... published by
J. J. Audubon, and J. B. Chevalier," _American Journal of Science
and Arts_, vol. xlii, pp. 130-136. New Haven, 1842.

"Mr. Audubon has now nearly a thousand subscribers to his work; an
instance of liberal support of a work on natural history certainly
without a parallel in the New World, and hardly with one in the Old."

147. (ANON.):

"A Synopsis of the Birds of North America, by J. J. Audubon.
London, 1839," Oken's _Isis_, Bd. xxxvii, pp. 713-718. Leipzig,
1844.

148. WINTERFIELD, CHARLES:

"American Ornithology (The Birds of America and Ornithological
Biography)," _The American Review: A Whig Journal_, vol. i, pp.
262-274. New York, 1845.

149. WINTERFIELD, CHARLES:

"About Birds and Audubon," _The American Review: A Whig Journal_,
vol. i, pp. 371-383. New York, 1845.

Refers to a meeting with Audubon on a canal boat in Pennsylvania, when
the latter was returning from his Missouri River expedition in 1843.
See No. 173.

150. WINTERFIELD, CHARLES:

"A Talk about Birds and Audubon," _The American Review: A Whig
Journal_, vol. ii, pp. 279-287. New York, 1845.

Interesting reference to "the great fire [of July 19, 1845] which so
lately devastated so large a part of this proud city [New York]," in
which the copper plates of Audubon's _Birds_ were thought to have been
destroyed (see Chapter XXXV, p. 267).

151. (ANON.):

"Audubon, the Naturalist," _Athenæum_, London, vol. for 1856, p.
283.

Review of Mrs. Horace St. John's _Life of Audubon_ (see No. 71).

152. (ANON.):

"The Life and Adventures of John James Audubon," _Athenæum_,
London, vol. for 1868, pp. 833-834. Review of Buchanan's _Life_
(see No. 72).

153. (ANON.) BURROUGHS, JOHN:

"The Life of Audubon ... edited by Mrs. J. J. Audubon" [see No.
73], _The Nation_, vol. ix, pp. 13-14. New York, 1869.

Reprinted in Buchanan's _Life of Audubon_, "Everyman's Library" (see
No. 72).

154. (ANON.):

"The Adventures of Audubon," ... _Edinburgh Review_, vol. cxxxii,
pp. 250-275. Edinburgh, 1870.

Review of Buchanan's _Life_.

155. SHUFELDT, R. W.:

"Shedding Horns of Antelope," _Shooting and Fishing_, New York,
March, 1896.

For critical articles by the same author, see also the following: "On
the Terrestrial Attitudes of Loons and Grebes," _The Ibis_, London,
January, 1898; "Audubon's Figure of the Mountain Partridge," _Field
and Stream_, New York, September 1899; "Scaup Duck," _Shooting and
Fishing_, New York, November 26, 1903; and "The Nest of the Orchard
Oriole," _The Wilson Bulletin_, Oberlin, June, 1903.

156. (ANON.):

"A Great Naturalist," _Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine_, vol.
clxiv, pp. 58-69. Edinburgh, 1898.

Review of _Audubon and his Journals_.

157. (ANON.) MERRIAM, C. HART:

"Audubon," _The Nation_, vol. LXVI, pp. 151-152. New York, 1898.

See also _Science_, N. S., vol. VII, pp. 289-296, with plate. New
York, 1898.

Reviews of _Audubon and his Journals_.

158. M[IALL], L. C.:

"Audubon," _Nature_, vol. lvii, pp. 286-287. London, 1896-1898.

A dour review, in which the writer remarks that Audubon's _Birds of
America_ "has great artistic merit but less scientific value than a
good series of photographs from life."

159. HUTT, W. N.:

"Audubon the Original Nature Fakir," _Scientific American_, vol.
xcviii, p. 59. New York, 1908.

A feeble echo of the slanderous charges brought against Audubon by
Thomas P. Jones in 1828 (see No. 93).

160. COLLES, GEORGE W.:

"A Defense of Audubon," _Scientific American_, vol. xcviii, p.
311. New York, 1908.

An excellent rejoinder to the egregious article quoted above.

161. BURNS, FRANK L.:

"Alexander Wilson," Pts. I-VIII, _The Wilson Bulletin_, vols.
xx-xxii. Oberlin, 1908-1910.

See particularly, I. "The Audubon Controversy," vol. xx, pp. 3-18, and
II. "The Mystery of the Small-headed Flycatcher," vol. xx, pp. 63-79.

j. Auduboniana and Miscellanea

162. (ANON.):

"Wilson the Ornithologist," _The Literary Gazette, and Journal of
Belles Lettres, Arts and Sciences_, London, Saturday, September 3,
1831, p. 574.

A grotesque notice, based on a rumor, said to have originated in
a Philadelphia newspaper, of the death of Audubon in America, but
confounding his identity with that of Alexander Wilson, whose death had
actually occurred at Philadelphia eighteen years before. In the issue
of October 15, the editor acknowledged his error in resurrecting and
then killing Wilson, but explained that the obituary was intended for
Audubon.

163. BROWN, CAPT. THOMAS:

"Mr. Audubon," _Caledonian Mercury_, Edinburgh, Thursday, November
3, 1831.

Quotes a letter written by Audubon, to Joseph B. Kidd and dated "New
York, Sept. 7, 1831," four days after his death had been announced in
England. In its issue of September 8, this paper had already corrected
the London editor's error respecting Wilson.

164. (ANON.) FEATHERSTONHAUGH, G. W.:

"Audubon's Expedition to California and the Rocky Mountains,"
_Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural Science_, vol. i,
p. 229. (November.) Philadelphia, 1831.

165. (ANON.):

"Mr. Audubon," _New York Mirror_, vol. 10, p. 325. New York, April
20, 1833.

166. (ANON.):

"Audubon and his Labrador Expedition." Editorial in the _National
Gazette and Literary Register_, Philadelphia, vol. xiii, No. 3808,
September 10, 1833.

"We wish him a degree of success and prolongation of vigor equal to his
great merits; indeed, for the past at least, success is fully assured."

167. (ANON.):

"Mr. Audubon," _National Gazette and Literary Register_,
Philadelphia (extracted from the _Boston Patriot_), vol. xiii, No.
3919, September 10, 1833.

Welcomes Audubon on his return to Boston, and gives detailed account of
his successful Labrador expedition.

168. MACGILLIVRAY, WILLIAM:

_A History of British Birds, indigenous and migratory_, 5 vols.,
8vo. Illust. London, 1837-1852.

See _Practical Ornithology_, 6th. Lesson: "Ornithologus [Audubon], and
Physiophilus [MacGillivray]," pp. 462-474 (1839).

169. SWAINSON, WILLIAM:

_Taxidermy, Bibliography, and Biography. The Cabinet Cyclopædia_,
conducted by the Rev. Dionysius Lardner. 12mo. London, 1840. For
"J. J. Audubon, Animal Painter," see pp. 116-117.

170. FREILIGRATH, F.:

"Epistel an Audubon nebst einer Antwort aus Amerika." Pp. 1-16,
18mo. Philadelphia, 1844.

This rare little pamphlet bears on its cover a woodcut of an Indian
brandishing a gun and knife: the poem begins:

"Mann der Wälder, der Savannen!
Neben rother Indier Speer,
An des Mississippi Tannen
Lehntest du dein Jagdgewehr!"

and the response:

"Audubon, den Vogelfänger
Sangst du an, mit Herzeleid;
Freiligrath, o grosser Sänger!
Deine Lieder fliegen weit."

See also J. Bayard Taylor, "Audubon. From the German of Ferdinand
Freiligrath," _Graham's American Monthly Magazine_, vol. xxvi, p. 264.
This poem consists of twenty stanzas, the first four and best of which
are:

Man of forests and savannas!
On the Mississippi's tide,
Leanest thou thy hunting-rifle
Oft the Indian spear beside;

With the forest's tawny chieftains
Thou the friendly pipe dost light—
Seest the wandering pigeon's journey
And the eagle's silent flight.

With thy shot thou lam'st his pinion;
And the trackless region through,
On the mighty river's mirror
Pliest thou thy swift canoe.

O'er the green and grassy prairie
Boldly flies thy fiery steed;
Deer and forest-fruits the manna
God has given thee in thy need!

Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810-1876), well known German lyric poet and
apostle of democracy, was more than once forced to flee his native land
on account of his political sentiments; he went to England seven years
after Audubon had finally settled in America, and that country became
his refuge for over twenty years; his translations from the English
included Longfellow's poem of "Hiawatha."

171. (ANON.):

"Mort de Jean Jacques Audubon, célèbre naturaliste américain,"
illust., _L'Illustration_, Paris, vol. xvii, No. 416, February 28,
1851, p. 128.

172. (ANON.):

"John James Audubon," _Harper's New Monthly Magazine_, vol. ii,
pp. 561-563 (March). New York, 1851.

173. WEBBER, CHARLES WILKINS:

_Romance of Natural History; or Wild Scenes and Wild Hunters._
8vo.; pp. 1-8, 17-610. Philadelphia, 1852.

An abridgment of the author's _Wild Scenes and Wild Hunters_, 1851, and
also issued under the title _The hunter naturalist_; also published
as _The Romance of forest and prairie life; narrative of perilous
adventures & wild hunting scenes_ (H. Vizetelly. London, 1853). Gives
an anecdote of meeting Audubon on a canal boat in Pennsylvania, when
he was returning from the Upper Missouri in 1843 (see No. 149) and is
quoted here for no other reason.

174. AUDUBON, JOHN WOODHOUSE:

_Illustrated notes of an expedition through Mexico and
California._ Pp. 1-48, 4 plates, plain or colored. J. W. Audubon.
New York, 1852. Reprinted as Extra Number 41 of _The Magazine
of History, with Notes and Queries_. Pp. 1-83, 4 colored plates
(including frontispiece). W. Abbatt. Tarrytown, 1915.

It was planned to issue this work monthly in ten numbers, if it
should receive sufficient public support. The drawings are exquisitely
reproduced, and as works of art are deserving of the highest praise.
See No. 219.

175. A[NNA]. A[TKINS].:

_Memoir of J. G. Children, Esq._, including some unpublished
poetry of his father and himself. Printed for private
distribution. Pp. 1-314. Westminster, 1853.

Refers to Audubon's relations with Children, and to his naming of
"Sylvia childreni," which later proved to be an error.

176. NOLTE, VINCENT:

_Fifty Years in both Hemispheres: or Reminiscences of a Merchant's
Life._ London, 1854.

English edition of a work originally published at Hamburg in the same
year. See particularly his version of the meeting with Audubon in 1810,
and of their descent of the Ohio in Nolte's flatboat to Louisville in
the winter of that year.

177. WALLACE, W. ROSS:

"Audubon's Hymn in the American Forests," _Harper's New Monthly
Magazine_, vol. xix, p. 619 (October). New York, 1859.

178. STODDARD, CHARLES A[UGUSTUS].:

"A Noble Woman's Life: A Memorial Sermon to the late Madame
Audubon." Printed by request. Pp. 1-24, 18mo. Anson D. F. Randolph
& Co., 770 Broadway, cor. 9th St., New York, 1874.

179. F.:

"Audubon's Birds of America," _Magazine of American History_, vol.
1, pp. 252-253. New York and Chicago, 1877.

Reproduction of a note by J. Prescott Hall concerning Audubon's
subscribers.

180. LOCKWOOD, SAMUEL:

"Audubon's Lily Rediscovered," _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. x
(April), pp. 675-678. New York, 1877.

Records the rediscovery of Audubon's long lost and discredited yellow
water lily, _Nymphæa flava_, by Mrs. Mary Treat, in Florida, in the
summer of 1876. Originally figured by Audubon, with the Common American
swan, on Plate ccccxi, of _The Birds of America_, in 1838.

181. COUES, ELLIOTT:

_Birds of the Colorado Valley_, Bibliographical Appendix: "List of
Faunal Publications relating to North American Ornithology," pp.
567-746. 8vo. Washington, 1878.

Gives full citations of the various editions of Audubon's works. "It
takes an inspired idiot to be a good bibliographer" (Coues).

182. WADE, JOSEPH M.:

"Letter to J. M. Wade on Audubon's Mill," _Ornithologist and
Oölogist_, vol. 8, p. 79. Boston, 1883.

183. JORDAN, DAVID STARR:

"Rafinesque," _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. xxix, pp. 212-221
(June). New York, 1886. Reproduced in _Pioneers of Science in
America_, edited by William Jay Youmans (New York, 1896).

184. SHUFELDT, R. W.:

"On an old Portrait of Audubon, painted by himself, and a word
about some of his early Drawings," _The Auk_, vol. iii, pp.
418-430, with portrait. New York, 1886.

185. SAUNDERS, FREDERICK:

_The Story of Some Famous Books._ For Audubon, see pp. 141-144.
London, 1887.

186. STARLING, EDMUND L.:

_History of Henderson County, Kentucky._ 8vo., pp. 1-832.
Henderson, 1887.

Gives an account of Audubon's mill and of his other business ventures
at Henderson, but when departing from local records is inaccurate and
unreliable.

187. MARTIN, D. S.:

"Audubon's Grave," _Science_, vol. x, pp. 68-69 (Aug. 5). New
York, 1887.

Refers to the project set on foot to raise funds for erecting a
monument to the naturalist.

188. SHUFELDT, R. W.:

"Audubon's Grave," _Science_, vol. x, p. 108 (Aug. 28). New York,
1887.

Proposes that the remains of Audubon should eventually rest in the
crypt of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City.

189. (ANON.):

[Audubon's Grave], _Science_, vol. x, p. 205 (Oct. 28). New York,
1887.

Announces the appointment of a committee by the New York Academy
of Sciences to secure funds for the erection of the proposed
monument.

See also the same, vol. x, p. 278 (Dec. 9).

190. SHUFELDT, R. W.:

"Audubonian Sketches," _The Audubonian Magazine_, published in the
interests of the Audubon Society for the protection of birds, vol.
i (January), pp. 267-271, illust., and vol. ii (February), pp.
3-6, illust. New York, 1888.

See files of the same magazine, vol. i, pp. i-xi, 1-288, February,
1887-January, 1888, and vol. ii, pp. i-vi, 1-264, February,
1888-January, 1889, New York, for various comments on Audubon's
life and services.

191. BACHMAN, C. L.:

_John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D._ 8vo, pp. i-xii, 1-436, with
portrait. Charleston, 1888.

Reproduces numerous letters which passed between the Bachman and
Audubon families.

192. LOOMIS, LEVERETT M.:

"A Forgotten Volume," _The Auk_, vol. viii, p. 230. New York,
1891.

193. (ANON.):

"Report of the Audubon Monument Committee of The New York Academy
of Sciences," _Transactions of the Academy_, vol. xiii, pp. 23-69.
New York, 1893.

194. SHUFELDT, R. W.:

"Audubon the Naturalist," illust., _The Great Divide_, San
Francisco, September, 1893.

"More about Audubon the Naturalist," _ibid._, February, 1894.

195. DUKE, BASIL W.:

"Audubon," _Southern Magazine_, vol. iii, August, 1893, pp. 3-19,
portrait and illust. Louisville, 1893-1894.

196. SHUFELDT, R. W., and AUDUBON, M. R.:

"The Last Portrait of Audubon, together with a letter to his son,"
_The Auk_, vol. xi, pp. 309-313, portrait. New York, 1894.

The original of D'Avignon's engraving, published in 1850; see No. 62.

197. HEALY, GEORGE P. A.:

_Reminiscences of a Portrait Painter._ Chicago, 1894.

Gives an account of his successful manœuvres to obtain sittings for his
portrait of Audubon in 1838.

198. CALL, RICHARD ELLSWORTH:

_The Life and Writings of Rafinesque._ Filson Club Publications,
No. 10. 4to. Pp. i-xii, 1-227. Louisville, 1895.

Takes Audubon severely to task for his treatment of Rafinesque at
Henderson in the summer of 1818; see pp. 24-29.

199. "RENIGNOLDS" (E. R. SHATTUCK):

"Audubon's Plates sold for Junk," _Forest and Stream_, New York,
September 12, 1896.

200. BAKEWELL, W. G.:

_Bakewell-Page-Campbell._ Being an account of the descendants of
John Bakewell, of Castle Donnington, Leicestershire, England, born
in 1638, &c., &c. Wm. H. Johnston & Company. Pittsburgh, 1896.

Gives genealogy of the Bakewells, and of the families of J. J., J. W.
and V. G. Audubon.

201. COUES, ELLIOTT:

"Letter by Audubon to Charles Bonaparte, dated New York, May 1,
1833," _The Osprey_, vol. ii. Washington, 1897.

202. ROZIER, FIRMAN A.:

_Rozier's History of the early Settlement of the Mississippi
Valley._ 8vo., pp. 1-338. St. Louis, 1898.

See Part X for some account of the business relations of Audubon with
the author's father, Ferdinand Rozier.

203. COUES, ELLIOTT:

"William Swainson to John James Audubon, _The Auk_, vol. xv, pp.
11-13. Cambridge, 1898.

Letter dated "Tettenhanger Green, 2d October 1830"; reprinted in _The
Osprey_, vols. iv and v (Washington, 1900).

204. GÜNTHER, ALBERT:

"The unpublished correspondence of William Swainson with
contemporary naturalists (1806-1840)," _Proceedings of the Linnæan
Society_, 112th session, pp. 14-24. London, 1900.

Lists twenty-four letters of Audubon to Swainson, dating from 1 May,
1828, to 11 Jany., 1838, with brief reference to their contents. For
abstract of this paper see Theodore Gill, "Swainson's Correspondence."
_The Osprey_, vol. v, pp. 29-30 (Washington, 1900).

205. GILL, THEODORE:

"Correspondence of and about Audubon with Swainson," _The Osprey_,
vol. v, pp. 23-25. Washington, 1900.

206. GILL, THEODORE:

"William Swainson and his Times," _The Osprey_, vols. iv and v.
Washington, 1900.

207. (ANON.):

"Recent Sales of Audubon's Works," _The Osprey_, vol. v, pp. 31
and 63. Washington, 1900.

Copy of _The Birds of America_ sold by Bangs, February 6, 1896, for
$1,250, and another by Sotheran, London, 1892, for £345 (about $1,725),
the first with the _Ornithological Biography_ included.

207a. BOHEMIAN (C. S. BOUTCHER):

"Early Days in the Lehigh Valley," _Black Diamond Express_, vol.
iv, pp. 3-15. New York, 1900.

Describes Audubon's visit to Mauch Chunk in 1829, and gives also a
detailed account of the copy of _The Birds of America_ formerly the
property of David Eckley, of Boston, and then in possession of Robert
H. Sayre, of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (for which see Chapter XXVI,
p. 7).

208. (ANON.):

"Audubon in the [American] Museum [of Natural History]," with
explanatory notes by Maria R. Audubon, _The American Museum
Journal_, vol. 1, pp. 82-84, with portrait. New York, 1900-1901.

Describes portrait of Audubon painted by his sons towards the close
of his life, and given to the Museum by Mr. Fordham Morris, of New
York, an oil painting of wild turkeys, the original of which was made
by Audubon in 1826 for the Royal Institution of Liverpool, and several
other paintings and plates. In vol. ii, page 42, of the same journal is
reproduced an unpublished painting of the Red-eyed Vireo by Audubon.

209. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"Unpublished Letters of William MacGillivray to John James
Audubon," _The Auk_, vol. xviii, pp. 239-249. Cambridge, 1901.

210. COUES, ELLIOTT:

"Auduboniana and Other Matters of Present Interest," _Bird Lore_,
vol. iii, p. 9. New York, 1901.

210a. CLARK, EDWARD B.:

"Relics of Audubon," _Chicago Evening Post_, February 7, 1901.

An account of Auduboniana and other literary rarities in possession of
Mr. Ruthven Deane.

211. MACGILLIVRAY, WILLIAM:

_A Memorial Tribute to William MacGillivray, M.A., LL.D.
Ornithologist; Professor of Natural History, Marischal College
and University, Aberdeen._ 4to, pp. i-xvi, 1-204, with illust.
Edinburgh, 1901.

Contains sketch of MacGillivray's life and work, with an account of
the monument placed over his grave, and of a beautiful memorial tablet
inscribed to his memory at Marischal College, with an unpublished
"Journal" by MacGillivray, and extracts from his other writings.

212. BUTTERWORTH, HEZEKIAH:

_In the Days of Audubon; A Tale of the "Protector of Birds."_
Illustrated. Pp. x-xii, 1-236. New York, 1901.

213. JOB, HERBERT K.:

"Following Audubon among the Florida Keys," _Outing_, vol. xliii,
pp. 71-79, illust. New York, 1903.

214. HOWE, REGINALD HEBER:

"Audubon's 'Ornithological Biography,'" _The Auk_, vol. xxi, p.
286. Cambridge, 1904.

Note on volume i of the American edition, bearing the imprint:
"Philadelphia: Judah Dobson, Agent, 108 Chestnut Street; and H. H.
Porter, Literary Rooms, 121 Chestnut Street. MDCCCXXXI." See also
Ruthven Deane, _The Auk_, vol. xxiv, 1907, p. 111, and Nathaniel E.
Janney, the same, p. 349.

This writer at one time proposed to bring out a revised edition of the
_Ornithological Biography_, but the project was abandoned from lack of
support.

215. (ANON.):

"[John James Audubon]; Notice of the Commemoration of the one
hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of his birth," _The Auk_,
vol. xxii, p. 334 (July). Cambridge, 1905.

See Chapter I, Note 6.

216. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"John James Abert to John James Audubon" (hitherto unpublished
letters), _The Auk_, vol. xxii, pp. 172-175. Cambridge, 1905.

217. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"William Swainson to John James Audubon" (a hitherto unpublished
letter), _The Auk_, vol. xxii, pp. 31-34. Cambridge, 1905.

218. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"William Swainson to John James Audubon," _The Auk_, vol. xxii,
pp. 248-258. Cambridge, 1905.

219. AUDUBON, JOHN W.:

_Audubon's Western Journal: 1849-1850._ Being the MS. record of
a trip from New York to Texas, and an overland journey through
Mexico and Arizona to the gold-fields of California. With a
biographical memoir by Maria R. Audubon, and edited by Frank
Heywood Hodder. Map, portrait, and original drawings. Pp. 1-250,
8vo. Cleveland, 1906.

For the original edition of Part 1 of J. W. Audubon's _Journal_, see
No. 174 of this Bibliography.

220. CLAIBORNE, F.:

_Simple Love and Occasional Pieces in Verse, with A Notice of
Audubon._ Pp. 1-60. New Orleans, 1906.

221. STONE, WITMER:

"A Bibliography and Nomenclator of John James Audubon," _The Auk_,
vol. xxiii, pp. 298-312. Cambridge, 1906.

Most complete and accurate analysis of Audubon's ornithological works
yet given.

222. (ANON.):

"Abstract of Audubon's Account Books, kept at Philadelphia, while
the Octavo edition of the Birds was being issued," _Evening Post_,
New York, Saturday Supplement for December 29, 1906.

223. (ANON.):

"Original Account Book of J. J. Audubon," _The Nation_, vol.
lxxxiv, p. 12 (June 3). New York, 1907.

See the preceding; gives interesting data regarding the issue of
the first octavo edition of _The Birds of America_ in parts, at
Philadelphia, 1840-1844.

224. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"Unpublished Letters of Introduction carried by John James Audubon
on his Missouri River Expedition," _The Auk_, vol. xxv, pp.
170-173. Cambridge, 1908.

225. DEANE, RUTHVEN:

"The Copper-Plates of the Folio Edition of Audubon's 'Birds of
America,' with a brief Sketch of the Engravers," _The Auk_, vol.
xxv, pp. 401-413. Cambridge, 1908.

226. MERRIAM, C. HART:

"The King Cameos of Audubon," _The Auk_, vol. xxv, pp. 448-450,
with plate. Cambridge, 1908.

226a. MERRITT, DIXON L.:

"Audubon, the Ornithologist, in Kentucky," _The Taylor-Trotwood
Magazine_, vol. 10, pp. 293-298. Nashville, 1909.

226b. DERBY, EARL OF:

In letter, to Audubon, dated January 17, 1835. Reproduction of
"The Eagle and the Lamb." _Forest and Stream_, June 26, 1909, pp.
1011-1012. New York, 1909.

227. SHUFELDT, R. W., M.D.:

"An hitherto unpublished painting by Audubon," _The Wilson
Bulletin_, N. S., vol. xii, pp. 3-5, illust. Oberlin, 1910.

Oil painting of cock and hens, but original in poor state of
preservation.

228. FITZPATRICK, T. J.:

_Rafinesque. A Sketch of his Life with Bibliography._ 8vo., pp.
1-242, with portrait and reproductions of rare titles. Historical
Department of Iowa, Des Moines, 1911.

Cites 939 separate publications by Rafinesque, numerous manuscripts and
134 Rafinesquiana.

229. ARTHUR, STANLEY CLISBY:

"John James Audubon, and the Birds of Louisiana,"
_Times-Picayune_, New Orleans, May 2, 1915.

Gives an account, with illustrations, of "Fontainebleau," and of the
house at Mandeville which is regarded as "the probable birthplace" of
Audubon.

230. ARTHUR, STANLEY CLISBY:

"Audubon in West Feliciana," _Times-Picayune_, New Orleans, August
6, 1916.

Follows Audubon's footsteps in Louisiana, and gives an interesting
account, with illustrations, of the plantation houses at which Mr. and
Mrs. Audubon lived at various intervals from 1821 to 1829.

231. RHOADS, SAMUEL N.:

"More Light on Audubon's Folio 'Birds of America,'" _The Auk_,
vol. xxxiii, pp. 130-132. Cambridge, 1916.

232. WILLIAMS, GEORGE ALFRED:

"Robert Havell, Junior, Engraver of Audubon's 'The Birds of
America,'" _Print-Collector's Quarterly_, vol. 6, No. 3 (October),
pp. 225-257, illust. Boston, 1916.

Presents a genealogy of the Havell family, and gives an excellent
analysis of the work of the eminent engraver.

233. (ANON.):

"More Buried Treasure in a Noted Basement," _New York Tribune_,
Sunday, March 11, 1917.

An appeal for a better treatment of the originals of Audubon's _Birds
of America_. "The original charter of the New York Historical Society
signifies that the organization was formed to preserve the history of
the United States, and especially the history of the City of New York.
If Audubon's wonderful drawings of the birds of America are not United
States history and New York City history rolled into one, then what, in
the name of Herodotus, Father of History, is?"

234. TOWNSEND, CHARLES W.:

"In Audubon's Labrador," _The Auk_, vol. xxxiv, pp. 133-146,
illust. Cambridge, 1917.

INDEX

Abert, John James, on Audubon's plans, ii, 3;
his career and the rattlesnake episode, ii, 3, 77;
"Abert's squirrel," ii, 4, 64, 155.

Abolitionists (_Les Amis des Noirs_), activity in France, i, 43;
their opposition to white planters and fomenting of rebellion
in Santo Domingo, i, 49.

Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia), introduction of
Audubon to, i, 328;
foundation and work of, i, 333;
notice of meeting of, i, 333;
Waterton on rejection of Audubon by, ii, 87.

_Accipiter cooperi_, i, 330.

Adams, Rev. Charles Coffin, history of his manuscript on the
_Life of Audubon_; his career and writings, i, 18; ii, 300.

Adams, John Quincy, i, 396.

Adelaide, Queen of England, patronage of, i, 391.

Allston, Washington, i, 336.

American Ornithologists' Union, number of species of American
birds recognized by (in 1910), ii, 215;
doubtful species in "Check-List" of, ii, 215.

_American Ornithology_, story of the author, production and
publication of, i, 202-219;
original drawings for, i, 213;
the engraver and publisher of, i, 213, 217;
the Prospectus and character of, i, 217;
the issue and patronage of, i, 217;
death of the author of, i, 219;
publication of the last volume of, i, 223;
second American edition of, i, 223;
diary of the author of, i, 224;
Audubon's charge against the author of, i, 226;
counter charge of Ord in defense of the author of, i, 227.

American Philosophical Society, Audubon to Sully on his rejection
by, i, 362;
his later membership in, i, 363;
Harlan on rejection of Abert by, ii, 3-4; 27.

_Anthus spraguei_, Sprague's Titlark, ii, 253.

Antonio de Sedella, Father, portrait of, i, 319, 321;
Governor Claiborne on, i, 319.

"Ark." _See_ Flatboats.

Arthur, Stanley Clisby, i, 314;
on the bird-life of the St. Francisville region, i, 315;
ii, 318;
on Audubon and West Feliciana, i, 322-323; 338.

"Articles of Association" of Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier,
description and reproduction of original of, i, 146-148;
ii, 344-349.

Ashburton, Lord, Baron (Alexander) Baring, ii, 242.

"Astur (_Falco_) Stanleii," i, 354, 417.
_See_ "Stanley Hawk."

_Athenæum_ (London), on Audubon, ii, 84-85, 140, 199-200;
advertisement of _The Birds of America_, ii, 201.

Aubinais, M., i, 55.

Audibon (or Audubon?), Pierre, in the American Revolution, i, 24.

Audubon, Anne, suit by, i, 28, 263.

Audubon, Catherine Françoise. _See_ Mme. Jean Louis Lissabé.

Audubon, Claude, and his family, i, 27.

Audubon, Dominica, suit by, i, 28, 263.

Audubon, Jean, his command at Yorktown and checkered career,
i, 24;
his parentage and father's family, i, 26-28;
birth and baptism, i, 27;
beginning of life at sea and capture at Louisburg, i, 28;
a prisoner in England, i, 28;
enters French Merchant marine and begins his voyages to New
Foundland, i, 29;
enlists in French navy and appears at Nantes, i, 30;
reënters merchant marine and begins voyages to Santo Domingo,
i, 30;
his ships and commands, i, 31;
his marriage, i, 32;
fight in _Le Comte d'Artois_ and capture by the English, i, 32;
prisoner in New York, and release, i, 32;
joins the American Revolution and commands a ship at the siege
of Yorktown, i, 34;
later commands in the United States and fight with a British
privateer, i, 34;
residence in the West Indies, i, 36;
travels in the United States and purchase of "Mill Grove,"
i, 36;
joins the National Guard at Les Cayes, i, 37;
epitome of Santo Domingo career, i, 37;
engagement with Coirond Brothers with interests at Les Cayes
and St. Louis, i, 38;
rapid rise to wealth as planter, sugar refiner, and slave
dealer, i, 39;
light cast by his dealings in slaves, i, 39; ii, 330-335;
his West Indian fortune and final settlement of estate,
i, 40-41, 268;
treatment of slaves and dependents, i, 41, 54;
Santo Domingo experience compared with that of a contemporary
planter at Jaquemel, i, 44-48;
birth of his son at Les Cayes, i, 52;
discovery of bill of his physician, i, 53; _see also_ i, 54,
and ii, 314-327;
his son, Fougère, and daughter, Muguet, taken to France, i, 57;
his reference to Audubon's mother, i, 59;
designation of his children in his wills, i, 63, ii, 360-362;
dual personality expressed by his son, i, 63;
joins National Guard at Nantes, i, 74;
possible refuge of his family during Revolution in France,
i, 76;
activities immediately before and during French Revolution,
i, 77-82;
Revolutionary offices, i, 78;
report as Civil Commissioner, i, 78;
mission to Pornic and Paimbœuf, i, 79;
signature during Revolution, i, 79;
mission to Les Sables d'Olonne, and letters to the
Administration, i, 80;
his reimbursement for services to the Republic, i, 81;
operations as ensign commander, and encounter with the
_Brilliant_, i, 82;
his later commands and elevation to rank of _lieutenant de
vaisseau_, i, 82;
his financial losses in Santo Domingo, i, 82;
indemnity from the French Government, i, 83;
respective rank and service in the French merchant marine
and navy, i, 83;
his certificate of service, i, 83;
retirement and pension, i, 83, 85;
settlement and occupations at "La Gerbetière," i, 85;
Santo Domingo interests described in power of attorney, i, 85;
residences at Nantes, i, 86; _see also_ i, 57, 58;
his death, i, 87;
his son's tribute, i, 87, 88;
financial vicissitudes, i, 88; _see also_ i, 85;
habits, abilities and physical characteristics, i, 88;
letter soliciting aid for his son, i, 100;
interest in "Mill Grove" and the Prevost mortgage, i, 105;
lease and inventory of the property, i, 105;
portrait at age of forty-five (?), i, 106;
mining project with Dacosta, i, 113;
sale to Dacosta of a one-half interest in "Mill Grove," and
its lead mine, i, 114;
expectations for his son, i, 115;
financial aid from Claude François Rozier, i, 115;
correspondence with Dacosta, i, 116-123;
instructions regarding his son's proposed marriage, i, 117;
appeal in answer to Dacosta's complaints concerning his son,
i, 118;
instructions for settlement of claims against the Ross and
Formon estates, i, 121-123;
his uncanceled mortgage, i, 122;
instructions concerning the farmhouse at "Mill Grove," i, 122;
as grantor of powers of attorney, i, 131, 132-133, 153; _see
also_ i, 85-87;
marriage of his daughter, i, 131;
arranges a business partnership for his son, i, 132;
his former country villa as it appears to-day, i, 135-145;
division of the "Mill Grove" property and sale of his remaining
interests, i, 149-150, 152-153;
letters of his son, i, 159-161, 163;
portrait at Couëron, i, 100;
troubles with Dacosta and contest over his final accounts,
i, 168;
bequest of his property in usufruct to his wife, and
testamentary designation of his children, i, 262;
contest of relatives over wills, i, 263;
unfounded statements of biographers of his son, i, 264;
his claims against the Ross-Formon estates as a basis of
fiction, i, 265;
final settlement of his financial affairs, i, 268;
his descendants in France and last of his name in America,
i, 269, ii, 294.

Audubon, Mme. Jean (Anne Moynet), her marriage and property at
Paimbœuf, i, 32, 40, 57, 80;
adoption of children by, i, 59;
baptism of adopted son, i, 60-61;
characterization of her son in wills, i, 62, 262-264;
as grantor of powers of attorney, i, 131, 132-133, 153;
legal troubles and impoverishment, i, 263;
removal from "La Gerbetière," i, 263, 268;
her death at "Les Tourterelles," i, 263;
disposition of her estate, i, 266, 269;
break in relations of her adopted son with his family in
France, i, 266-269;
attack upon her husband's estate and its final settlement,
i, 263, 268;
her testaments, ii, 363-368.

Audubon, Jean Jacques Fougère (John James Audubon, _see also_
Fougère and Jean Rabin), his masterpiece, i, 1;
his greatest working period, i, 2;
experience in Paris in 1828, i, 2;
Cuvier's eulogy and patronage of the French Government, i, 3;
rarity and cost of his publications, i, 4;
personality and talents, i, 5;
attacks upon his character, i, 6;
his historical background and hitherto unwritten history, i, 7;
his Americanism, i, 8;
characteristics of his writings, i, 8-10; his _Ornithological
Biography_, i, 9;
drawings of birds and mammals, i, 10;
influence on American ornithology, i, 10;
honesty of purpose, i, 11;
memories of him in London, i, 11;
public monuments and other honors in America, i, 13;
Societies and Clubs dedicated to his memory, i, 14;
his bibliography, i, 15;
attempt at autobiography, i, 16;
first formal _Life_ of, i, 17;
true history of Buchanan's _Life_, i, 18-22;
Mrs. Audubon's revision of Buchanan's _Life_, i, 22;
Miss Maria R. Audubon's _Life and Journals_, i, 22;
accepted account of his birth and early life in light of new
discoveries, i, 22;
parentage and early names;
a creole of Santo Domingo, i, 52;
his baptismal name, i, 53;
discovery of the bill rendered by the physician who assisted
at his birth, i, 53;
feeble health and death of his mother, i, 56;
birth of his sister, creole of Santo Domingo, i, 56;
taken with his sister to France, i, 57;
his foster mother and home at Nantes and Couëron, i, 57;
his adoption and text of act, i, 59;
suppression of his mother's name, i, 60;
his baptism and text of act, i, 60;
assumed name of "La Forest," i, 61;
his signatures, i, 61, 63;
his names appearing in wills, i, 62;
his dual personality in a power of attorney, i, 64;
first date given in his autobiography, i, 65;
record in his Ohio River journal, i, 66;
his later autobiographic sketch, i, 66-68;
traditional date of birth, i, 68;
myth concerning birth in Louisiana, i, 68-72;
account given by the Rev. Gordon Bakewell, i, 69;
influence of environment on character, i, 90;
his limited schooling, i, 91-93;
the spur his ambition needed, i, 91;
experience in the French navy, i, 92;
early passion for nature and for drawing, i, 93;
as truant, i, 94;
his father intervenes and takes him to Rochefort, i, 94;
return to Couëron, i, 96;
baptized in the Catholic Church, i, 96;
first return to the United States, i, 98;
illness at Morristown, i, 99;
befriended by his father's American agent, i, 99;
his father's letter and intentions in sending him to America,
i, 100;
his settlement at "Mill Grove" farm, and period of stay there,
i, 101-103;
begins his studies of American bird-life, i, 106;
makes first "banding" experiment on young of a wild bird,
i, 107;
visit to "Fatland Ford," and choice of a wife, i, 110;
his gayety and extravagance, i, 110;
abstemious habits in youth as regards food and drink, i, 111;
his account of himself, i, 111;
his accomplishments described by a future brother-in-law,
i, 111;
opposition to his marriage, i, 116;
Dacosta's grievances, i, 116-119;
quarrels with Dacosta and returns to France, i, 123-125;
voyage on the _Hope_, i, 126;
life at Couëron and friendship with D'Orbigny, i, 127;
receives with Ferdinand Rozier a power of attorney from his
parents, i, 131;
attends the marriage of his sister and signs the record, i, 131;
his relations with his brother-in-law, i, 132;
his partnership with Rozier and second letter of attorney,
i, 132;
returns, with Rozier, to the United States, i, 134;
voyage of the _Polly_, and receipt of Captain Sammis, i, 134;
experience with British privateers, i, 134;
boyhood home at Couëron, i, 136-145;
his description of "La Gerbetière," i, 136;
his abortive attempt, with Rozier, to administer the "Mill
Grove" mine and farm, i, 146-148;
their "Articles of Association," i, 146-148; ii, 344-349;
sale of remaining rights in "Mill Grove" to Dacosta and Company,
i, 148-149;
receives, with Rozier, new power of attorney, i, 153;
enters business office of Benjamin Bakewell in New York, i, 153;
his associates and correspondence with the elder Rozier,
i, 153-166;
letters to his father, i, 159-161, 163-164;
his use of English and French, i, 155; ii, 372-374;
plans a retail business with Rozier, i, 157-158, 160-162, 165;
dispatch of live birds, and other objects of natural history
to France, i, 158-159, 160, 162, 165-166;
conflicting references to "Mill Grove" explained, i, 158-160,
162, 165-168;
his drawings and preoccupation in New York, i, 170-172;
works for Dr. Mitchell's collections in natural history, i, 171;
term of service in the Bakewell office, i, 154-155, 171-172;
his account of himself, i, 172;
his early drawings, ideals and perseverance, i, 173-174,
178-183;
study under David in Paris, i, 174-175, 176-178;
cause of certain defects in his published work, i, 174;
date of his Paris experience, i, 174-175, 177;
encouragement from his father, i, 174;
David's supposed influence on his style, i, 178;
patronage of Edward Harris and history of the Harris-Jeanes
collection of his early drawings, i, 179-183;
his drawing methods, i, 183-185;
his ambition, difficulties and defects, i, 184;
purchases goods in New York, and with Rozier starts west,
i, 186;
Rozier's diary of their journey, i, 187-192;
settles at Louisville, i, 192;
venture in indigo and effect of the Embargo Act, i, 193;
his marriage to Lucy Green Bakewell, and return to Louisville,
i, 194;
a later journey on the Ohio River, i, 195;
occupations at Louisville, i, 196, 197-198;
business with assignees of the Bakewell firm, i, 196;
birth of his elder son, i, 198;
his drawings of birds and plants, i, 198;
his wife receives a portion of her father's estate, i, 198;
meeting with Alexander Wilson, and the troubles which ensued,
i, 207;
stories of Audubon and of his rival compared, i, 220-225;
charges and counter charges, i, 226;
his merits and demerits, i, 227-232;
his difficulties and pleasures as western trader, i, 232-236;
moves with Rozier to Henderson, i, 236;
again they move to Ste. Geneviève, i, 237-241;
held up at Cash Creek, i, 238-240;
experience at the Great Bend, i, 240;
dissolution of his partnership with Rozier and return to
Henderson, i, 241;
after-relations with Rozier, i, 243;
in troubled times, i, 246;
befriended by Dr. Rankin, i, 248;
birth of their younger son, i, 248;
enters the commission business with a brother-in-law, i, 249;
his visit to Ste. Geneviève, i, 249;
reënters trade at Henderson and buys land, i, 250;
town records of his purchases, i, 250, 252;
his store and house of logs, i, 252;
his popularity, i, 252;
Henderson gossip and anecdotes, i, 253;
his second partnership with Thomas W. Bakewell, i, 254;
they lease land and build a steam grist-, and lumber-mill,
i, 254;
partnership of Thomas W. Pears, i, 254;
the Henderson mill at a later day, i, 254;
their mechanical difficulties, i, 254;
lease of timber land and plunder of workmen, i, 255;
bill of lumber rendered by J. J. Audubon & Co., i, 256;
financial depression and failure of the mill, i, 257;
quarrel over steamboat and encounter with Bowen, i, 257-259;
legal history of the suit, i, 258;
the opinion expressed to him by the judge, i, 259;
goes to Louisville jail for debt, i, 260;
declares himself a bankrupt and is released, i, 260;
his walk to Louisville, i, 260;
later account given to Bachman, i, 260;
reflections on passing his old mill in 1820, i, 261;
light on his enigma, i, 262-272;
his designations in wills, i, 262-264;
probable history of a fictitious "bequest," i, 264-266;
his brother-in-law's letters, i, 266-269;
attempt of relatives to break his father's will in France,
and impoverishment of his step-mother, i, 263;
his step-mother's death, i, 263;
the last of his family in France, i, 269;
his elder son's visit to Couëron, i, 269;
his reference to "Audubon of La Rochelle," i, 270;
his "Episodes" and methods of composition, i, 273-284;
discrepancies and inaccuracies of some of his narratives,
i, 273-274, 279-291;
his account of meeting Nolte and Nolte's account of meeting
him, i, 274-279;
on horseback from Henderson to Philadelphia, i, 275;
description of the famous earthquakes and the hurricane,
i, 279-291;
criticism of his account of Daniel Boone, i, 291;
"Episode" of "The Prairie," i, 274, 282-284;
answer to a criticism of, i, 284;
his sketch of "The Eccentric Naturalist" and comment,
i, 285-300;
practical jokes, and cost to Zoölogy, i, 291;
the "Scarlet-headed Swallow" and "Devil-Jack Diamond Fish,"
i, 291-293;
his later relations with Rafinesque, i, 294;
his Æneid, 1819-1824, i, 301-326;
debt to his wife, i, 301;
begins to work at portraiture at Shippingport, i, 303;
removal to Cincinnati, i, 303;
history of his engagement as taxidermist at the Western Museum,
and friendship with Dr. Drake, i, 303-306;
starts a drawing school and plans a journey through the West
and South, i, 306;
starts with Captain Cummings and Joseph R. Mason for New
Orleans, i, 307;
his Ohio and Mississippi Rivers journal, i, 307;
experience at Natchez;
boots and portraits, i, 308;
loss and recovery of a portfolio, i, 309;
stranded at New Orleans, i, 309;
resorts to portraiture again, i, 311;
his drawings of birds, i, 311;
interview with Vanderlyn, i, 312;
leaves New Orleans with Mason, i, 313;
meeting with Mrs. Pirrie and engagement at "Oakley," i, 312;
enchantments of the West Feliciana country and introduction
to St. Francisville, i, 313-315;
experience as tutor to "my lovely Miss Pirrie of Oakley,"
i, 315, 317-318;
leaves abruptly and returns with Mason to New Orleans, i, 318;
his industry and fruits, i, 318;
joined by his family in New Orleans, i, 319;
crisis in financial affairs and losses of drawings, i, 320;
as teacher at Natchez and Washington, i, 321;
parts with his pupil assistant, i, 321;
his first lessons in the use of oil colors, i, 321;
engagements of his wife at New Orleans, Natchez and St.
Francisville, i, 322;
his wife's "Beechwoods" school, i, 322;
resolution to pursue his ornithological studies, i, 323;
misadventure with Stein, i, 324;
ill and adrift, i, 324;
decides to visit Philadelphia to find a publisher for his
drawings, i, 325;
settles, with his elder son, at Shippingport, i, 325;
experience in Philadelphia in 1824, i, 327-335;
his exhibition at the Academy of Natural Sciences, i, 328;
meeting with Bonaparte and Ord, i, 328;
opposition encountered, i, 328-330;
criticisms of Ord and Lawson, i, 329;
his work for Bonaparte, i, 330;
appreciation of Fairman and Harris, i, 331;
assistance of Edward Harris and beginning of their friendship,
i, 331, 333;
early letter to Harris, i, 332;
Thomas Sully, as friend and teacher, i, 334;
visit to "Mill Grove," i, 335;
reception in New York and assistance of Samuel Latham
Mitchell, i, 336;
election to membership in the Lyceum of Natural History,
i, 338;
acts as model for Vanderlyn's portrait of Andrew Jackson,
i, 338;
to Thomas Sully, i, 339;
visit to Albany and Niagara Falls, i, 339;
misadventure at Presque Isle, i, 340;
the Meadville "Episode," i, 341-343;
residence at Pittsburgh, i, 343;
journey to Lakes Ontario and Champlain, where plans of his
publication are matured, i, 343;
stranded at Cincinnati, i, 344;
returns to St. Francisville, and resorts to teaching, i, 346;
sails with his drawings from New Orleans, i, 347;
journal of the voyage of the _Delos_, i, 348-350;
lands in Liverpool, i, 350;
his credentials, i, 351;
introduction to Lafayette, i, 351;
customs duties, i, 350;
Nolte's letter to the Rathbones, i, 352;
aid of the "Queen Bee" of "Greenbank," i, 353;
his "observatory nerves," i, 353;
ornithological dedications, i, 354;
exhibition of his drawings at the Royal Institution, i, 354;
appearance and habits, i, 354;
paintings as gifts, and the Turkey Cock seal, i, 355;
painting methods, i, 355;
opens a subscription book of _The Birds of America_ at
Manchester, i, 356;
plan of the work, i, 356;
his life of contrasts, i, 357;
journey to Edinburgh, i, 357;
invitation to merge his work, i, 357;
meeting with Lizars, who agrees to engrave his first number,
i, 358;
first proof of the Turkey Cock received, i, 358;
publication of the first ten plates in Edinburgh, i, 358;
success of his Edinburgh exhibition, i, 359;
impressions of Philarète-Chasles, i, 359;
Cap's hint taken, i, 360;
cast of his head made and his portrait painted, i, 361;
response at banquet of the Royal Institution, i, 361;
society's tax on his strength, i, 361;
contributions to journals, i, 362;
blackballed by an American Society, i, 362;
proposed gift to the Royal Institution, i, 363;
visit to "Dalmahoy," i, 363;
friendship of Basil Hall, i, 364;
characterization of Francis Jeffrey, i, 365;
first meeting with Scott, and his record of the interview,
i, 365;
exhibits his drawings at Sir Walter's home, i, 366;
Scott, on Audubon, i, 367;
papers on the Wild Pigeon and the Rattlesnake, i, 368;
his painting of "Pheasants attacked by a fox," i, 369;
Sidney Smith, i, 369;
to his wife, i, 369-373;
first meeting with Kidd, i, 373;
issues his Prospectus, i, 373;
visit to Selby at "Twizel House," i, 374;
with Thomas Bewick at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, i, 375;
success in canvassing, i, 376;
in London, i, 377-410, 413-418;
his credentials for the metropolis, i, 376-380;
abandonment of his work by Lizars and discovery of Robert
Havell, Junior, i, 380-384;
his _Birds of America_ fly to London, i, 384;
painting his way to liberty, i, 388;
canvassing experiences, i, 388;
efforts to secure the patronage of the King, i, 390, 392;
the Queen becomes his patroness, i, 392;
visit to Glasgow, i, 393;
difficulties with his publishers, i, 393;
timely aid from Sir Thomas Lawrence, i, 393-396;
exhibition and sale of his paintings, i, 394;
resolutions on snuff, i, 396;
dislike of London, i, 397;
his work and Selby's compared, i, 397;
revision of his drawings, i, 398;
calls by appointment upon an earl, i, 398;
visits the great Universities, i, 399;
solicitations of publishers and contributions to magazines,
i, 399;
friendship with Swainson, and original letters of their
correspondence, i, 400-403;
Swainson's review of his work, i, 403;
visit at Tyttenhanger, i, 404;
to Swainson, i, 405-407;
request for further contributions to magazines refused, i, 407;
visit to Paris with the Swainsons and Parker, i, 408-413;
his picture of Cuvier at fifty-nine, i, 411;
patronage of the Duke of Orleans, i, 411;
exchange of works with Redouté, i, 412;
with Cuvier at the Royal Academy, i, 412;
Cuvier's report on his work, i, 413;
correspondence with Swainson, i, 413-415;
Bonaparte to, i, 416-419;
first journey from England to America, i, 420-436;
to his wife, i, 420;
exhibition of drawings in New York, i, 421;
painting at Camden and Great Egg Harbor, i, 421;
Swainson to, i, 422;
sojourn in the Great Pine Forest, i, 423, 425-426;
to Victor Audubon, i, 424;
"Episodes" and record of work, i, 425;
visits his sons and joins his wife at "Beechgrove" (St.
Francisville) in Louisiana, i, 427;
to Harlan, i, 427-430;
Swainson to, i, 430;
occupations at "Beechgrove," i, 432;
preparations to return, with Mrs. Audubon, to England, i, 432;
to Havell, i, 433;
proposition for a successor to the position held by his wife,
i, 434;
reception at Washington, and accessions of subscribers, i, 435;
aid of Edward Everett, i, 435;
his letterpress and its rivals, i, 437-451;
membership in the Royal Society, i, 437;
settlement in Edinburgh and publication of the _Ornithological
Biography_, i, 437;
engages William MacGillivray to assist him, i, 438;
rival publications, i, 439, 442-445;
issue of his first volume of letterpress, i, 439;
Sir William Jardine to, i, 441;
MacGillivray as his reviewer, i, 445;
undertakes a Natural History Gallery of paintings with Kidd,
i, 446;
notices and final abandonment of the enterprise, i, 446;
to London and Paris, i, 447;
Edward Everett to, i, 448-451;
financial difficulties overcome, i, 451;
explorations in Florida and the South Atlantic, ii, 1-25;
returns to America with his wife, and a taxidermist as
assistant, ii, 1;
to Kidd, ii, 1;
his obituary in the _London Literary Gazette_, ii, 2;
Abert and Featherstonhaugh announce his plans, ii, 3;
promise of governmental aid at Washington, ii, 4;
visits Charleston and meets John Bachman, ii, 5;
sails from Charleston for Florida with two assistants, ii, 5;
Bachman on, ii, 5;
dedication to Bachman of a copy of his _Birds_, ii, 7;
his _Birds of America_ as gifts to others, ii, 7;
his journey described in Featherstonhaugh's _Journal_, ii, 8-14;
account of meeting with Bachman, ii, 9;
hospitality of the Charlestonians, ii, 10;
impressions of St. Augustine, ii, 12;
methods of work, ii, 12;
Harlan to his wife, ii, 14;
misadventures at Bulowville, ii, 15-20;
shooting birds at Live Oak Landing, ii, 16;
narrow escape from the marshes, ii, 17-19;
as a prophet on the future of eastern Florida, ii, 20;
the ibis of Orange Grove Island, ii, 21;
his plans delayed, ii, 22-24;
journey from St. Augustine to Key West, ii, 24;
return to Savannah and Charleston, ii, 25;
eastern visit and explorations in the North Atlantic, ii, 26-66;
settles again in Camden, ii, 26;
an experiment in lithography, ii, 26;
correspondence of Harlan, ii, 28;
his welcome at Boston, ii, 29;
to Edward Harris, ii, 29;
journey to Maine coast and New Brunswick, ii, 30;
winter and illness in Boston, ii, 31, 34-35;
sends his son to England to take charge of his publications,
and plans an expedition to Labrador, ii, 31;
Bachman to, ii, 32;
to Victor Audubon, ii, 33;
drawing of the Golden Eagle, ii, 34;
to his son, ii, 35-40;
financial affairs, ii, 37-38, 65;
on his portrait by Inman, ii, 39;
his American subscribers, ii, 39-41;
letters to Harris, ii, 40;
organization of his proposed expedition, ii, 42-44;
George Parkman to, ii, 43;
sails in the _Ripley_ for Labrador, ii, 44;
journal of his experiences, ii, 44-50;
at Bird Rock, ii, 45;
discovers a new finch, ii, 45;
scenes of work at Wapitagun, ii, 46-48;
his efforts and accomplishments, ii, 48;
return to Eastport and Boston, ii, 49;
editorial comment, ii, 50;
letter from Havell, ii, 51;
Thomas L. McKenney on, ii, 52;
arrested in Philadelphia, ii, 52;
Washington Irving's aid in Washington, ii, 53;
itinerary from Richmond, ii, 53;
winter at Bachman's, ii, 54;
letter to his son, ii, 55-62;
on Ord and Waterton, ii, 55, 61;
on his buzzard experiments, ii, 55;
on Syme's portrait, ii, 57;
his family alliance, ii, 58;
on his American subscribers, ii, 59, 62;
on Robert Havell, ii, 59;
on growing old, ii, 60;
on self-improvement, ii, 61;
on Kidd, ii, 57, 62;
Bachman, on his working habits, ii, 62;
to Harris, ii, 64;
echo of his early business troubles, ii, 64;
his statement of the case, ii, 65;
return to England, ii, 65;
gratitude to Edward Harris, ii, 66;
as target of critics and detractors, ii, 67-92;
questionable essays, ii, 68;
his reply to Sully, ii, 68-71;
the rattlesnake controversy, ii, 71-80;
charges of an editor, ii, 72;
his original drawing and account of the rattlesnake, ii, 74-76;
his errors and vindication, ii, 76-80;
letter of Thomas Cooper, ii, 78;
on the bend of the rattlesnake's fang, ii, 79;
rediscovery of his discredited lily, ii, 80;
on the buzzard's sense of smell, and present state of the
controversy, ii, 81-84;
his champions of the scientific and literary press, ii, 84;
on his snake stories, ii, 85;
his most persistent heckler, ii, 86-92;
Waterton and Swainson, on the authorship of his _Ornithological
Biography_, ii, 87;
on the rivalries of contemporaries, ii, 93-124;
to Swainson, ii, 95-97, 99-100, 101-103, 112;
Swainson to, ii, 97-99, 103-108;
his appeal to Swainson for assistance on his letterpress,
ii, 94, 98, 102-103, 104-107;
check in friendship and engagement of MacGillivray, ii, 108;
resulting controversy over the authorship of the
_Ornithological Biography_, ii, 87-88, 109;
on the craze for describing new species, ii, 110;
"Ornithophilus" on, ii, 111;
Swainson as biographer of, ii, 113-115;
his reference to Bonaparte resented, ii, 118;
his letter to Bonaparte and their subsequent relations,
ii, 119-121;
comment on Gould, ii, 121-124;
return to England in 1834, ii, 125;
to Edward Harris, ii, 125;
on his relations to William MacGillivray, ii, 125-128;
MacGillivray to, ii, 126-128, 130-132, 134;
his ornithological collection, ii, 129;
completion of the second volume of his letterpress, ii, 132;
to Harris, on the alligator and the American edition of
his _Ornithological Biography_, ii, 132, 134;
MacGillivray's contract with, ii, 134;
MacGillivray's assistance and friendship, ii, 134-137;
his acknowledgments and dedication to MacGillivray, ii, 137;
to John Wilson, ii, 139;
on the effects of overwork, ii, 140;
letters to Harris, ii, 141-144;
on Alexander Wilson, ii, 143;
issue of his third volume of the _Ornithological Biography_,
ii, 144;
on his journey, ii, 144;
third American tour, ii, 146;
landing in New York, ii, 146;
efforts to secure the Nuttall-Townsend collection of western
birds, ii, 147-149, 153-154;
thwarted in Philadelphia, ii, 149;
in Boston and Salem, ii, 149-151;
meets Brewer and Nuttall, ii, 150;
friendship and recommendation of Daniel Webster, ii, 151;
success of canvassing in New York, ii, 153;
efforts to obtain the collections in Philadelphia renewed,
ii, 153;
rivalry of priority seekers, ii, 155;
plans an expedition to Florida, and visits Washington for
governmental aid, ii, 155;
entertained at the White House, ii, 156;
on Andrew Jackson, ii, 156;
winter spent with Bachman, ii, 156;
overland with Edward Harris and his younger son to New
Orleans, ii, 157;
experiences in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas, ii, 157-165;
adventures with the _Crusader_, ii, 158-163;
at Galveston Bay, ii, 163;
visit to Houston, ii, 164;
his party disbands at Charleston, ii, 165;
his son's marriage, and return to England, ii, 166;
to Thomas Brewer, ii, 168;
extension of his _Birds_ and revolt of British patrons,
ii, 170, 174;
to Harris on Townsend's second collection of western birds,
ii, 170-173;
eagerness to render his work as complete as possible, ii, 173;
on extra plates and partial subscribers, ii, 174;
to William Swainson, ii, 176;
his day of greatest triumph, ii, 177;
return to Edinburgh and completion of his letterpress,
ii, 178-186;
to his son, ii, 178-181;
at work with MacGillivray, ii, 178-181;
publication of the fourth volume of the _Ornithological
Biography_, ii, 181;
impairment of the health of his wife, ii, 181, 183, 186;
their tour in the Scottish Highlands, ii, 182;
to Edward Harris, ii, 184-186;
completion of his labors in England, ii, 186;
number of American species of birds recognized in 1839, ii, 186;
valedictory to the "gentle reader," ii, 187;
prepares to return with his family to America;
directions to Havell, ii, 188-191;
intimate history of the work of his engraver, with manual
for collectors, ii, 191-199;
the _Athenæum_ on, ii, 199;
Peabody on, ii, 200;
on the original and existing numbers of copies of his
_Birds_, ii, 201-203;
on his own and Havell's copy of _The Birds of America_,
ii, 203;
original and present prices of his works, ii, 204;
singular attest of J. P. Hall regarding, ii, 205;
Audubon's account of the Rothschild incident, ii, 206-208;
settles in New York, and immediately undertakes two new
works, ii, 208;
Bachman to, on a revised edition of _The Birds of America_,
and the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 208;
to Brewer on the _Quadrupeds of North America_, ii, 209;
marriage of his elder son, ii, 210;
Bachman, on his coöperation in the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 210;
prospectus of the octavo edition of the _Birds_, ii, 211-212,
214;
its composition and number of American species of birds
recognized, ii, 214-215;
to his family while canvassing in Baltimore, ii, 215-217;
original account book of, ii, 217;
extraordinary success of his _Birds_ in "miniature", ii, 217;
bereavements of his family, ii, 218;
his friendship with a rising young naturalist, ii, 218;
opening correspondence with Spencer Fullerton Baird,
ii, 219-223;
William Yarrell to, ii, 223-225;
new birds from Baird, ii, 219, 225;
their correspondence continued, ii, 226;
letter to George Parkman, and the "Parkman Wren,", ii, 227-229;
to W. O. Ayres on collecting quadrupeds, ii, 229;
on the expenses of his publication, ii, 230;
Baird on his first visit to his friend, ii, 230-232;
consolation and advice to his pupil, ii, 232;
purchase of land and house-building, ii, 234;
"Minnie's Land" on the Hudson, ii, 235;
his activities, ii, 235;
Parke Godwin on Audubon and "Minnie's Land," in 1842,
ii, 236-238;
in 1845, ii, 238;
his expedition to the Upper Missouri, ii, 239-258;
correspondence with Baird, ii, 239-241;
credentials from the Government, ii, 242;
Daniel Webster's letter, ii, 242;
his letter from President Tyler, ii, 243;
Bachman on the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 243;
canvassing tour to Canada, ii, 244;
description of Canadian visit in letter to Benjamin Phillips,
ii, 244-246;
William Yarrell to, ii, 246;
overtures to Baird to join his western expedition fail,
ii, 248-250, 252;
Edward Harris to, ii, 251;
his party, ii, 252;
rendezvous at Philadelphia and beginning of journey, ii, 252;
ascent of the Missouri in the _Magnet_, ii, 252;
his journal of their experiences, ii, 253;
discovery of new birds, ii, 253;
on George Catlin, ii, 254;
at Fort Union, ii, 254-256;
first experience with buffalo, ii, 254;
forecast of its fate, ii, 255;
in a wilderness that howls, ii, 256;
his return, ii, 256;
on a canal boat homeward bound, ii, 257;
mistaken for a Dunker, ii, 258;
portrait by his son, ii, 258;
to Baird, ii, 258;
completion of his _Birds_ in octavo, and dedication to Baird,
ii, 259;
his final work on the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 261;
on Pennant's marten, ii, 263;
to Bachman on mischief makers, and letterpress of the
_Quadrupeds_, ii, 264-267;
his copper-plates of _The Birds of America_ pass through
fire in New York, ii, 267;
as a spectator at the ruins, ii, 267;
reply to Baird on the results of the fire, ii, 268;
Bachman's visit in 1845, ii, 268;
Bachman's complaints and ultimatum through Harris, ii, 269;
Bachman on his Missouri River Journal, ii, 271;
correspondence with Baird, ii, 272-273, 275-278, 279;
recommendation of Baird, ii, 279;
his son visits England to paint for the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 280;
manuscript of the _Quadrupeds of North America_, ii, 283;
illustrations and completion of plates of the _Quadrupeds_,
ii, 285;
Brewer on a visit to "Minnie's Land" in 1846, ii, 286-288;
letter to Harris in 1847, ii, 287;
Baird's note of last visit in 1847, ii, 288;
Bachman on his visit of 1848, ii, 288;
last days and death at "Minnie's Land", ii, 290;
work of his sons, and his family in America, ii, 291-312;
appropriation by the Government to procure copies of Audubon's
works for presentation to foreign countries, ii, 293;
manuscript notes and legends on original drawings of the
_Birds_, ii, 305.

Audubon, Mrs. John James, as editor of a _Life_ of her husband,
i, 18, 22;
her girlhood home, i, 108;
Audubon's account of their meeting and his debt to, i, 109;
her father and uncle as protégés of Audubon, i, 125;
Audubon on, i, 160;
her marriage and journey West, i, 194;
her children, i, 198, 247, 248;
her realization in her father's estate, i, 198-200;
her father and family, i, 199, 253-254;
as spur and balance wheel, i, 301;
at Cincinnati, i, 303, 306, 307, 320;
the Western Museum incident, i, 304;
at New Orleans, i, 320, 322;
engagements at Natchez and St. Francisville, i, 322;
her "Beechwoods" school, i, 322;
Audubon to, i, 370-372, 420-421, 424, 428;
at "Beechwoods," i, 431-435;
accompanies her husband to England, i, 435-436; ii, 1;
John Bachman to, ii, 5;
Richard Harlan to, ii, 14;
her activities and school at "Minnie's Land," ii, 299;
breaking up of her home and the _Life_ of her husband, ii, 300;
to a relative on her family's affairs, ii, 301;
to William R. Dorlan on her husband's autograph, ii, 302;
her last years and death, ii, 302;
a eulogy, ii, 303;
disposal of the original drawings of _The Birds of America_,
ii, 304;
ascription of drawing to, ii, 306.

Audubon, John Woodhouse, his birth, ii, 248, 323, 371;
his father to, i, 373, 390; ii, 43, 44, 54, 56-57, 156;
marriage to Bachman's daughter, ii, 166;
journey to Texas, ii, 272;
goes to England to paint for the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 273, 280;
dedication to John Edward Gray, ii, 280;
J. E. Gray to, ii, 281;
part in painting the originals of the folio plates of the
_Quadrupeds of North America_, ii, 285;
his unfortunate California venture, ii, 289;
his marriage to Caroline Hall, ii, 294;
children and descendants, ii, 294;
his house at "Minnie's Land," ii, 295, 311-312;
his illness and death, ii, 295-296, 297;
his project for reproducing the original folio of _The Birds
of America_ in America, checked by the War, ii, 296, 389-391;
residual stock of the incomplete work, ii, 296;
as his father's aid, ii, 297, 299;
activities and characteristics as boy and man, ii, 297-299,
309-310;
his _Western Journal_, ii, 299;
death of his second wife, ii, 303.

Audubon, Mrs. John Woodhouse (Maria Rebecca Bachman), her
marriage, ii, 166;
her death, ii, 218;
her children, ii, 294.

Audubon, Mrs. John Woodhouse (Caroline Hall), her marriage,
children and descendants, ii, 294;
her death, ii, 294.

Audubon, Lucy, death of, i, 247.

Audubon, Maria Rebecca, publication of Audubon's Autobiography
by, i, 16;
_Audubon and his Journals_ by, i, 22, 28, 63, 106, 153, 270,
369.

Audubon, Marie Rosa (Mme. de Vaugeon), i, 27;
suit by, i, 28, 263.

Audubon, Pierre, service in the French merchant marine, i, 26;
his son, Jean, and his family, i, 27;
at siege of Louisburg, i, 28.

Audubon, Rosa (Mme. Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau, _see_ Muguet),
her birth, i, 56;
taken to France, i, 57;
act of adoption, i, 59;
as godmother, i, 128;
marriage contract and marriage of, i, 131;
her home, children and death, i, 269.

Audubon, Rosa, i, 247.

Audubon, Victor Gifford, his birth, i, 198, 269, 325, 371, 396,
427;
takes charge of his father's publications in England, ii, 31;
his father to, ii, 33-40, 43-44, 55-62;
in his father's defense, ii, 55, 88, 65, 81, 119, 178, 189;
on the number of sets of _The Birds of America_ issued,
ii, 202;
married to Mary Eliza Bachman, ii, 210;
on "Minnie's Land," ii, 235;
John Bachman to, ii, 261-263, 281-283;
to Spencer F. Baird, ii, 278;
Baird to, ii, 278;
as amanuensis to Bachman, ii, 283, 291;
to Bachman, ii, 289;
success in canvassing, ii, 292;
Bachman's recommendation, ii, 292;
his issues of the _Quadrupeds_ and _Birds_, ii, 293, 295;
his second marriage and children, ii, 294;
his house at "Minnie's Land," ii, 295, 311;
his illness and death, ii, 395;
death of his wife, ii, 303.

Audubon, Mrs. Victor Gifford (Mary Eliza Bachman), her marriage,
ii, 210;
her death, ii, 218.

Audubon Mrs. Victor Gifford, (Georgianna Richards Mallory),
ii, 258;
her marriage and children, ii, 294;
her death, ii, 294.

"Audubon of La Rochelle," i, 27, 270, 271.

Audubon (Montgomery County, Pennsylvania), i, 102.

_Audubon and his Journals_, i, 22.

Audubon Association and Societies, history and aims of, i, 14.

Audubonian Epoch and Period in American ornithology, i, 10.

Aukland, Sir J. D., i, 377.

Ayres, W. O., Audubon, on collecting quadrupeds, to, ii, 229-230,
277.

Bachman, Rev. John, i, 291, 293;
meeting and friendship with Audubon, ii, 5, 9;
to Mrs. Audubon, ii, 5;
Audubon's gift of his _Birds of America_ to, ii, 7;
as canvasser for Audubon, ii, 27;
Audubon to, ii, 27;
to Audubon, ii, 32-33, 51;
buzzard experiments, ii, 55-56, 57, 59, 61;
publication of his paper on the Turkey Buzzard, ii, 56;
on Audubon's working habits, ii, 63-65;
account of experiments on the sense of sight and smell in
vultures, ii, 81-83;
Audubon to, on the effects of overwork, ii, 140-141, 146;
on conditions in the South, ii, 148;
Audubon's winter with, ii, 156;
marriage of daughter of, ii, 166;
in London, ii, 178, 179, 184;
to Audubon on his "Small Edition of Birds" and _Quadrupeds_,
ii, 208-209;
marriage of the daughter of, ii, 210;
on his coöperation with Audubon in the _Quadrupeds_,
ii, 210-211, 216, 220;
to Audubon on the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 243-244, 258-259;
on the _Quadrupeds of North America_, ii, 261-263, 269-272,
281-283;
calls for help, ii, 262;
Audubon to, on mischief-making of a "mutual friend," and the
letterpress of the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 264-267;
on Audubon in 1845, ii, 268;
his ultimatum to Edward Harris as mediator, ii, 268-270;
on Audubon's Missouri River Journal, ii, 271;
difficulties of coöperation, ii, 273;
domestic bereavement, ii, 274;
his second marriage, ii, 281;
working methods, ii, 281;
facsimile letter, ii, 282;
manuscript on the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 283;
early life and career, ii, 284;
on Alexander von Humboldt, ii, 284;
on Audubon in 1848, ii, 288;
completion of the text of the _Quadrupeds_, ii, 291;
recommendation of Victor Audubon and statement of his part
and interest in the work, ii, 292-293, 311.

Bachman, Mrs. John (Harriet Martin), death of, ii, 274.

Bachman, Mrs. John (Maria Martin), marriage of, ii, 281.

Bachman, Maria Rebecca. _See_ Mrs. John Woodhouse Audubon.

Bachman, Mary Eliza. _See_ Mrs. Victor Gifford Audubon.

Baco, mayor of Nantes, proclamation of, i, 74.

Baird, Spencer Fullerton, his friendship with Audubon,
ii, 218-220;
Audubon to, ii, 219-222, 232-233;
discovers new birds, ii, 219, 221, 225;
visits Audubon in New York, ii, 230;
to Audubon, ii, 231-232, 235;
correspondence with Audubon on the Missouri expedition,
ii, 239-241, 248-250, 252, 259;
dedication of Audubon to, ii, 259-260;
Coues on, ii, 260;
correspondence with Audubon on quadrupeds, ii, 263, 264,
272-273, 274-278;
on Pennant's marten, ii, 263;
first visit to Audubon, ii, 264;
on fate of Audubon's copper-plates, ii, 267;
his marriage and appointment in Dickinson College, ii, 276;
on Victor Audubon's gift, ii, 278;
on the curatorship of the Smithsonian Institution, ii, 279;
his recommendations by Audubon, ii, 279;
last letter and visit to Audubon, ii, 288.

Bakewell, Benjamin, as protégé of young Audubon, i, 125;
Audubon's engagement with, i, 153, 154-155, 171-172;
his establishment, correspondents and clerks, i, 153-154;
his residence and previous business career, i, 154;
his New York business and correspondents, i, 155;
dealings with Claude François Rozier, as told in Audubon's
letters, i, 156-158, 161-163, 164-166;
ruin of his trade by the Embargo Act, i, 172;
his business dealings with Audubon and Rozier, i, 186, 193;
emigration to America and establishment in New Haven, i, 201;
Wilson at his glass works in Pittsburgh, i, 204.

Bakewell, Eliza. _See_ Mrs. Nicholas Augustus Berthoud.

Bakewell, Rev. Gordon, on Audubon's birth, i, 69;
Audubon's portrait of, i, 69.

Bakewell, G. W., on William Bakewell, i, 99.

Bakewell, John, i, 200.

Bakewell, Joseph, i, 200.

Bakewell, Lucy Green. _See_ Mrs. John James Audubon.

Bakewell, Robert, i, 200, 377.

Bakewell, Thomas Woodhouse (of Crith, Derbyshire), i, 200.

Bakewell, Thomas Woodhouse, i, 153;
statement of accounts of Audubon & Rozier with his uncle's
estate, i, 193; _see also_ ii, 354-355;
letter to Audubon & Rozier, i, 196;
failure of his commission business with Audubon at New
Orleans, i, 248;
second partnership with Audubon, and history of their mill
enterprise at Henderson, i, 254-255, 259;
lease of land, i, 254;
investment in mill, i, 255;
withdrawal from business partnership, i, 256;
subsequent successful career at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati,
i, 259;
his financial reverses, fortitude and death, i, 259.

Bakewell, William, his purchase of "Fatland Ford" and
settlement upon this estate, i, 99, 108;
his daughter, Lucy Green, i, 108-110;
his private accounts and aid to Audubon and Rozier, i, 125;
sale of a portion of his farm in the interests of his
daughter, i, 198;
to Audubon and Rozier regarding the sale, i, 199;
his family and history, i, 200;
emigration to the United States and business at New Haven,
i, 201;
death of his first wife, i, 201;
his second marriage, i, 201;
his death, i, 201;
death of his second wife, i, 201;
financial assistance to son by, i, 255.

Bakewell, William Gifford, record of a visit to "Mill Grove,"
i, 111-112, 427; ii, 252.

Bakewell, Mrs. William Gifford, ii, 302.

Banks, Sir Joseph, ii, 117.

Barraband, Pierre Paul (1767-1809), his method of drawing birds,
i, 184, 404.

Bartram, Anne, i, 215.

Bartram, John, and his Botanic Gardens, i, 215.

Bartram, William, as mentor to Alexander Wilson, i, 212;
Wilson, in letter to, i, 213;
his hospitality, i, 214, 216;
his niece, and the Botanic Gardens of his father, i, 215;
on numbers of American birds, ii, 214.

_Bascanion._ _See_ Black snake.

Bayou Sara, introduction of Audubon to, i, 309;
life of Audubon at, i, 314-318;
village and origin of name of, i, 314.

Bazin, Eugène, translations by, i, 360.

Beates, Frederick, purchase and sale of "Mill Grove" by, i, 169.

Beer, William, i, 143, 155.

Bell, John, ii, 252;
dedication of Audubon to, ii, 253.

Benedict, Jennett, Audubon's itinerant portrait of, i, 342.

Benedict, Jesse, ii, 311.

Berthoud, Mme., death of, i, 326.

Berthoud, Nicholas Augustus, i, 197, 256, 303, 309;
engagement of Victor G. Audubon with, i, 325;
mother and family name of, i, 326, 427; ii, 27, 28, 33, 36,
37, 38, 130.

Berthoud, Mrs. Nicholas Augustus, i, 326; ii, 303.

Besant, Sir Walter, on London in 1837, i, 355, 395.

Best, Robert, and the Western Museum, i, 303, 306.

Bewick, Thomas, Audubon's visit to, i, 375; ii, 142.

Bibliography, i, 15; ii, 401-456.

Bien, J., and Company, ii, 396.

"Bird of Washington" ("_Aquila washingtonii_"), Audubon's
supposed discovery of, i, 241, 400, 406; ii, 185.

_Birds of America_ (folio), cost and rarity of, i, 4;
defects in drawings of, i, 174, 184-185;
destruction of drawings designed for, i, 179, 320-321;
in embryo, i, 180-183;
presentation copies of, i, 356;
plans of publication, i, 343;
first subscriber to, i, 353;
first engraved plate of, i, 359;
Lizars' part in engraving of, i, 359;
issue of first number of, i, 362;
first prospectus of, i, 373, _see also_ ii, 386-388;
title of, i, 381;
the Havells in relation to, i, 380-385;
rebirth of, in London, i, 384;
the singular history of plate No. iii, i, 384;
difficulties with colorists, i, 389;
the Queen as patroness, i, 392;
revision of drawings, i, 398;
Swainson's review, i, 403;
progress of, i, 405;
Cuvier's report, i, 413;
Bachman as canvasser for, ii, 27;
Thomas H. Perkins' copy, ii, 29;
Audubon's directions for dispatch of parts of, ii, 37;
his financial accounts with, ii, 37;
American subscribers, ii, 36-41;
insurance of drawings for, ii, 40;
editorial comment, ii, 41;
revolt of patrons at extension of plan, ii, 170, 174;
Audubon on extra plates and partial subscribers to, ii, 174;
completion of, ii, 177;
Audubon on residual stock of plates, ii, 188-190;
uncolored plates of, ii, 190;
on insurance of copper-plates of, ii, 191;
intimate history of the engravers and plates, with manual
for collectors, ii, 191-199;
story told in artists' and engravers' captions or legends,
ii, 196-198;
dates, errors and editions in plates, ii, 196-198;
original and present known numbers of complete sets, ii, 201;
Audubon's and Havell's copies of, ii, 204;
original and present prices, ii, 204;
curious attest of J. P. Hall, ii, 205;
original drawings for plates, ii, 304;
manuscript records and legends on original drawings, ii, 305;
story of fate of original copper-plates of, ii, 295, 306-309;
final lists of subscribers, ii, 380-385;
prospectus of 1828, ii, 386-388.

_Birds of America_ (in octavo), prospectus, ii, 208-212, 214;
agents' original and present prices of, ii, 211;
titles on original parts, ii, 213;
beginning of publication, ii, 214;
number of birds and doubtful species, ii, 214;
Audubon as canvasser for, ii, 215-217;
remarkable success of, ii, 217;
account-book of Audubon in business of, ii, 217;
William Yarrell on, ii, 223;
"Parkman's Wren" in, ii, 228;
expense of publication of, ii, 230.

_Birds of America_ (partial American issue in folio), ii, 296;
residual stock of plates of, ii, 297;
original prospectus of, ii, 389-391.

_Birds of Europe_, ii, 122;
anecdote of, ii, 123.

Blackbird, Red-winged (_Angelaius phœniceus_), Ord's charge
concerning Audubon's drawing of, i, 228.

Black Cocks (_Tetrao tetrix_), original painting of, i, 363, 366.

Black snake, "blue racer" (_Bascanion constrictor_), confused
with rattlesnake, ii, 76.

_Blackwood's Magazine_, John Wilson on Audubon and Kidd, i, 447;
John Wilson on Audubon, ii, 139.

Blanchard, Jean François, as attorney of Jean Audubon at Les
Cayes, i, 85.

Blue Jays (_Cyanocitta cristata_), painting of, i, 397.

Bohn, Henry G., on Audubon's drawings, i, 357.

Bonaparte, Charles Lucien, introduces Audubon at Philadelphia,
i, 328;
his career and work as an ornithologist, i, 329-331;
his artist and engravers, i, 330;
Audubon's contribution to his _American Ornithology_, i, 330;
his account of the Wild Turkey, i, 331;
characterization by a contemporary, i, 334;
his subscription to _The Birds of America_, i, 380, 385;
to Audubon, i, 416-419, 423; ii, 40, 49-50, 96, 98, 106, 107,
108, 110, 112, 118;
Audubon to, ii, 119;
his list of American birds, ii, 120;
his comment on Audubon's work, ii, 120, 169;
on publication of new species by, ii, 173, 176, 184, 214, 224.

Bonnabel, Antonio, acquisition of lands from, by Bernard
Marigny, i, 70.

Boone, Daniel, Audubon's characterization of, criticized, i, 281.

Bossals and Creoles in Santo Domingo, i, 42, 47.

_Boston Patriot_, ii, 50.

Bouffard, Catharine, designation of, in legal documents, i, 56;
mother of Muguet (Rosa Audubon), i, 56;
her appearance in France, i, 56;
mother of Louise, i, 56.

Bouffard, Louise, inquiry concerning, i, 56;
her birth, i, 67, 130.

Boulart (General), letter to Citizen Audubon, i, 80.

Bowen, Samuel Adams, his steamboat at Henderson, i, 236;
Audubon's encounter with, i, 257-259;
suit against Audubon by, i, 258;
conclusion of bench in action brought by, i, 259.

Bradford, Mrs. J. L., i, 13.

Bradford, Samuel F., as publisher of Wilson's _American
Ornithology_, i, 217, 219.

Bragdon, Sam L., i, 348.

Braud, William, Audubon as teacher in family of, i, 318;
Mrs. Audubon's engagement with family of, i, 322.

Brewer, Thomas Mayo, ii, 8;
Audubon on the rattlesnake, ii, 79, 150;
Audubon to, ii, 152-153, 165-166, 168-169, 175, 209;
on Audubon in 1846, ii, 286-288.

Brewster, Sir David, i, 362; ii, 84.

_Brilliant_, Jean Audubon's encounter with, i, 82.

Broadnax, Henry P., judge in case of Samuel Adams Bowen and
others vs. Audubon, i, 258;
his decision in a case of assault, i, 259.

Brown, Capt. Thomas, curious history of _Illustrations of the
American Ornithology_ by, i, 443-445;
limited circulation, rarity and piratical character of the
work, i, 443-445;
his _Illustrations of the Genera of Birds_, i, 444;
contemporary and later notices of his atlas, i, 444.

Buchanan, Robert Williams, true story of his _Life_ of Audubon,
i, 18-22;
his struggles, talents, idiosyncrasies and death, i, 19, 21, 22.

Buckland, William, D.D., i, 377.

Buffalo (New York), Audubon's visit to, in 1824, i, 340.

Buffalo hunting on the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone in 1843,
ii, 254-256.

Bullen, George E., i, 400, 403.

Bulow, John, welcome of Audubon and their adventures at his
plantation, ii, 15-20.

Bunting, Henslow's (_Passerhebulus henslowi_), i, 354.

Burchell, William John, ii, 97, 105.

Bureau, Louis, i, 143, 149;
manuscript letters of, i, 154.

Burns, Robert, relations of Alexander Wilson with, i, 208.

Butler, Benjamin F., ii, 153.

Butterflies, as food of birds, i, 358.

_Cabinet Cyclopædia_, Swainson in, ii, 113.

Caire, Louis P., to Lafayette, i, 352.

_Caledonian Mercury_, Notice of Jameson's edition of Wilson
and Bonaparte's _Ornithology_ in, i, 442;
notice of Jardine's edition in, i, 442-443, 446;
Audubon to Kidd in, ii, 2;
on the Wilson-Audubon obituary, ii, 3.

Call, Richard Ellsworth, i, 287, 299.

Camden (New Jersey), work of Audubon at, i, 421, 426; ii, 26-27,
30.

Campbell, Sir Archibald, ii, 30.

Cap, P. A., i, 360.

_Caporal, Le petit_, date of original drawing of, i, 180.

Carolina Paroquet (_Conuropsis carolinensis_), early drawing of,
i, 180.

Carrier, Jean Baptiste, mission and infamy of, i, 75;
denounced by Julien, i, 76;
reign of terror at Nantes under, i, 75;
recall of, i, 76.

Cass, Lewis, ii, 52.

Catlin, George, ii, 254.

Cayes (Les Cayes), delivery of slaves at, i, 31;
Jean Audubon's business interests in, i, 39;
its pre-revolutionary importance, i, 38;
corruption of its name, i, 38;
slave trade at, i, 39-41;
first touched by the Revolution, i, 50;
birth of Fougère (John James Audubon), and Muguet (Rosa
Audubon), at, i, 52-53, 56;
Jean Audubon's fortune and financial losses at, i, 82;
final settlement of Jean Audubon's estate at, i, 268.

Cedar-bird (_Bombycilla cedrorum_), habits of, i, 423.

Central Committee (at Nantes), extract from register of, i, 134.

_Century of Birds_, ii, 121.

_Cerberus_, Jean Audubon's command of, and encounter in, i, 82.

Chapelain, Doctor, as witness, i, 153.

Charette, siege of Nantes under, i, 74;
execution of, i, 76.

Charles X, patronage of, i, 3-4, 27.

Charleston, meeting of Audubon and Bachman at, ii, 5, 9;
Audubon's tribute to hospitality of people at, ii, 10;
bird-hunting at, ii, 10;
return of Audubon's party, ii, 25;
Bachman's services at, ii, 284.

Chat, Yellow-breasted (_Icteria virens_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 425.

Chevalier, J. B., ii, 211, 216, 222, 226, 234.

Children, John George, i, 377;
his career and friendship with Audubon, i, 379-380, 420, 437;
ii, 34, 56, 59, 199.

_Chouanerie_, i, 27.

Chuck-will's-widow (_Antrostomus carolinensis_), Audubon's
early drawing of, i, 182.

Cincinnati (Ohio), in 1810, i, 205;
record of earthquakes at, i, 280;
settlement of Audubon at, i, 303;
Dr. Drake and the Western Museum, i, 303-306;
early "Notice concerning," and activities of Dr. Drake,
i, 304-306;
organization of a college and medical school, i, 305;
Audubon stranded at, i, 344.

Cincinnati College, relations of Dr. Daniel Drake to, i, 304;
foundation and first president of, i, 305.

Clapp, Wellington, ii, 310.

Clay, Henry, i, 307, 372, 378, 396.

Clifford, John O., i, 290.

Clinton, De Witt, i, 2, 218, 339.

Cochereau, Matthew, painting of David's studio by, i, 177.

Coirond Brothers, i, 33, 38.

Coirond (Coyron), Mme., i, 86.

Coit, Rev. Dr. Henry Augustus, ii, 43.

Coit, Rev. Dr. Joseph, ii, 43.

Coleman, William A., Audubon to, ii, 174.

Colles, George W., on Audubon's account of the rattlesnake,
ii, 76.

Collett, Tobias, i, 103.

Colnaghi and Company, i, 383.

Colson, Augustus, i, 342.

_Columbus_, incident on voyage of, i, 312.

Combe, Andrew, i, 361.

Cook, Capt. James, i, 377.

Coolidge, Joseph, ii, 43, 50.

Cooper, Thomas, and the climbing habits of the rattlesnake,
ii, 53-54, 77-78;
to Audubon, ii, 78.

Coot, Audubon's early drawing of, i, 178.

Couëron, discovery of documents at, i, 53;
settlement of Jean Audubon at, i, 57, 83;
condition in 1793, i, 80, 137;
the D'Orbignys at, i, 127-128, 130;
history and characteristics of, i, 136-140;
present industry and population of, i, 137;
record of visit to, in 1913, i, 138-140;
_grand calvaire_ at, i, 139;
history of Audubon's boyhood home at, i, 140-145.

Coues, Elliott, on Audubon, i, 110;
on Alexander Wilson, i, 213; ii, 129.

_Count of Artois_ (_Le Comte d'Artois_), encounter of Jean
Audubon, and his capture in, i, 32;
armament and fate of, i, 33;
bill of sale of, i, 33;
unsettled claims concerning, i, 121, 265.

Couper, William, bust of Audubon, by, i, 13.

Cowles, Charles A., story of his rescue of a remnant of
Audubon's copper-plates, ii, 307.

Crane, Whooping (_Grus americana_), i, 227.

Crosby, Fortunatus (Judge), court record under, i, 260.

_Crusader_, Audubon's adventures in, ii, 157-163.

Culbertson, Alexander, ii, 271.

Cummings, Capt. James, i, 307; ii, 69, 258.

Cushing, Caleb, ii, 241.

Cuvier, Baron Georges, his eulogy on Audubon's _Birds_, i, 1;
his patronage, i, 2;
his death, i, 4;
report at the Royal Academy of Sciences, i, 174, 412-413;
Audubon's description of, i, 410-411; ii, 101, 142, 448.

Cyclopædia, New American, Wilson's editorial work on,
i, 216-217, 219.

Dacosta, Francis, and the Prevost mortgage, i, 106;
first appearance at "Mill Grove," and his interest in its
mine, i, 113;
early exploitation, i, 114;
as Lieutenant Audubon's attorney and guardian of his son,
i, 114;
his purchase of a one-half interest, i, 114;
his salary and grievances, i, 115;
difficulties with young Audubon and with the mine, i, 115;
correspondence of Lieutenant Audubon, i, 116-123;
Lieutenant Audubon's appeal in answer to complaints, i, 118;
instructions for settlement of claims, i, 121-123;
rebellion of young Audubon, i, 123;
his praise of Audubon's drawings, i, 124;
succeeded by Audubon and Rozier, i, 132;
called to account, i, 146;
acquisition of the remaining Audubon and Rozier interests,
i, 148-150;
his "_rôle_ of chicaner," i, 151, 158;
his failure and disputed claim, i, 168;
award of arbitrators in case, i, 168;
reproduction of his contested accounts, ii, 355-358.

"Dalmahoy," Audubon's visit to, i, 363.

Darwin, Charles, i, 354, 399.

Darwin, Erasmus, i, 200.

David, Jacques Louis, i, 3, 174, 175, 176;
his revolutionary ardor, patriotism and popularity, i, 174, 176;
his exile and death, i, 174;
his portrait of the mayor of Nantes, i, 174-176;
his reception at Nantes, i, 175;
his address to the Municipal Assembly, i, 175;
his studios and pupils at the Louvre, i, 177;
his works and influence, i, 177;
influence on Audubon's style, i, 178.

Davis, Isaac P., ii, 151;
on Webster's copy of _The Birds of America_, ii, 152.

Davy, Sir Humphry, i, 356, 377, 379.

Deane, Ruthven, i, 246, 444, 448; ii, 14, 188;
on copies of _The Birds of America_ in America, ii, 203,
204, 211, 263, 293;
on the copper-plates of _The Birds of America_, ii, 307-309.

Debtors, terrors of, in England, i, 395.

Declaration of Rights, voted by the National Assembly of
France, and its effect upon Santo Domingo, i, 37, 49.

De Genlis, Stephanie-Felicité, i, 163.

De Kervegan, Daniel, popularity and portrait of, as mayor of
Nantes, i, 175.

De La Luzerne, his recommendation of Jean Audubon, i, 32, 34.

_Delos_, Audubon's voyage on, i, 347-350;
subsequent fate of, i, 348.

De Marigny, Ecuyer Sieur, and his family, i, 69;
true story of his family, and of "Fontainebleau," which has
been erroneously attributed to him, i, 69;
his summer house at Mandeville, i, 71.

Derby, Earl of, ii, 146.

De Vaugeon, Mme. Lejeune, i, 28;
suit by, i, 262.

De Vaugeon, Pierre, i, 27.

De Wimpffen, Baron. _See_ Francis Alexander Stanilaus.

Dickinson College, Baird's appointment and position at, ii, 268,
276.

Dodge, William E., ii, 307.

D'Orbigny, Alcide Charles Victor, i, 128.

D'Orbigny, Dr. Charles Marie, as friend of young Audubon,
i, 120, 127-128;
his family, i, 128;
Audubon as godfather to son of, i, 128;
financial troubles of, i, 128-130;
Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau to, i, 129;
as debtor to Lieutenant Audubon's estate, i, 129;
inquiries concerning, i, 130;
as witness, i, 153;
Audubon's correspondence with, i, 160, 163, 171.

D'Orbigny, Charles (the younger), i, 128.

D'Orbigny, Gaston Edouard, birth and baptism of, i, 128.

Dorlan, William R., ii, 302.

Drake, Dr. Daniel, and Alexander Wilson, i, 305;
record of earthquakes at Cincinnati by, i, 280;
his engagement of Audubon as taxidermist, i, 303;
his foundation of the Western Museum and Audubon's connection
with it, i, 304-306;
his varied activities, i, 304;
his early "Notice concerning Cincinnati," i, 304;
his organization of the Cincinnati College and medical school,
i, 305;
his troubles with rivals, i, 306;
his appointment at the Transylvania University, i, 306.

Duck, Labrador (_Camptorhynchus labradorius_), at Bradore Bay,
ii, 48;
extinction of, ii, 48, 152.

Duck, "Velvet," White-winged Scoter (_Oidemia deglandi_),
Audubon's early drawing of, i, 182;
description of, i, 182.

Duncan, William, i, 208; ii, 284.

Dunkin, Judge, i, 260; ii, 64.

Dupré (Tête-Carée), raid of Nantes by, i, 77.

Du Puigaudeau, Gabriel Loyen, Audubon's power of attorney to,
i, 64;
to D'Orbigny, i, 128-130;
to J. Cornet, i, 130;
his marriage, i, 131;
his family, occupation and residence, i, 132;
to Audubon, i, 266-269.

Du Puigaudeau, Mme. Gabriel Loyen. _See_ Rosa Audubon.

Du Puigaudeau, Gabriel Loyen (the Second), death of at "Les
Tourterelles," i, 269.

Eagle, "Brown." _See_ "Bird of Washington."

Eagle, Golden (_Aquila chrysaëtos_), Audubon's drawing of, ii, 35.

Eagle, "Washington's." _See_ "Bird of Washington."

Eagle, White-headed (_Haliæetus leucocephalus_), Audubon's
original drawing of, i, 310.

Eagle and Lamb, original painting of, i, 394-396, 405, 406.

Earthquakes in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, 1811-1813;
casual and exact records of, i, 279.

Eckley, David, dedication of copy of _The Birds of America_ to,
ii, 7;
history of copy formerly owned by, ii, 7; ii, 150.

Ecton Consolidated Mining Company, i, 169.

Edinburgh, first visit and success of Audubon at, i, 357-373;
beginning of _The Birds of America_ at, i, 358;
exhibition of Audubon's drawings at, i, 359;
meeting with Sir Walter Scott at, i, 365;
issue of Audubon's Prospectus at, i, 373.

_Edinburgh Literary Journal_, notice of Brown's _Illustrations
of the American Ornithology_ in, i, 443.

_Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_, ii, 111.

Edward (Ezekiel Edwards?), unsettled claim of Jean Audubon
against, i, 121.

Edwards, Bryan, on the products and wealth of French Santo
Domingo, i, 30;
on the Santo Domingo blacks, i, 43.

Edwards, Ezekiel, i, 121.

Eggleston, Thomas, i, 13.

_Elaps_. _See_ Coral snake.

Embargo Act, of President Jefferson, effect of, on Audubon
and Rozier, i, 193.

"Episodes." _See Ornithological Biography_.

Evans, Roland, acquisition of "Mill Grove" by, i, 105.

Everett, Edward, patronage and aid of, i, 435;
letters of, i, 436, 448-451;
his efforts for the removal of import duties on _The Birds
of America_, i, 448;
his nomination of Audubon to fellowship in the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, i, 450; ii, 5, 23, 64;

_Falco Cooperii_ (_Accipiter cooperi_), i, 330, 417. _See_
"Stanley Hawk."

"Fatland Ford," William Bakewell's acquisition of, i, 98, 108,
201;
mansion house and farm of, i, 108;
Audubon's introduction to, i, 108;
Generals Washington and Howe at, i, 108;
marriage of Lucy Bakewell at, i, 194;
realization of Mrs. Audubon in, i, 198.

Faxon, Walter, i, 144.

Featherstonhaugh, G. W., Rafinesque's reply to, i, 294;
on Audubon's plans, ii, 4;
Audubon's Florida letters to, ii, 8-14, 15-22;
suspension of _Journal_ of, ii, 23, 28, 84.

Feliciana, West, characteristics of, i, 314-315;
former prosperity of, i, 323.

Finch, MacGillivray's, MacGillivray's Seaside Sparrow
(_Passerhebulus maritimus macgillivraii_), i, 354.

Fisher, Miers, as Jean Audubon's attorney and protégé of his
son, i, 99;
Jean Audubon to, i, 100;
residence in Philadelphia, i, 106;
and the Prevost mortgage, i, 106, 122;
succeeded by Dacosta, i, 113-114, 120-122;
as counselor of Audubon and Rozier, i, 148, 149, 160, 167;
resumption of duties as agent and attorney by, i, 168.

Fitzpatrick, T. J., i, 287, 292, 299.

Flatboats, on the Ohio River in 1810, i, 234;
convenience of, i, 234;
cost of, at Pittsburgh, i, 235;
time of passage of, from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, i, 235;
floating trade of, i, 234.

Flicker (_Colaptes auratus_), original painting of, i, 363.

Florida, Audubon's explorations in, ii, 12-25;
Audubon, on the future of the east coast of, ii, 20.

Floyd, John, ii, 5.

Flycatcher, Least (_Empidonax minimus_), discovery by the
Baird brothers, in 1843, ii, 225.

Flycatcher, "Selby's," i, 354.

Flycatcher, "Small Green-crested," i, 425.

Flycatcher, "Small-headed," curious history of, i, 218, 226-227;
reference to, by Thomas Nuttall, i, 227;
identifications of, by Cowes and Baird, i, 227; ii, 215.

Flycatcher, Traill's (_Empidonax trailli_), i, 354.

"Fontainebleau," myth and true story of, i, 69, 71.

Formon de Boisclair, Jean Audubon's dealings with, and
claims against, i, 33-34, 121, 265, 338. _See_ Lacroix,
Formon & Jacques.

Fort Union, Audubon's experiences at, ii, 254-256.

Fougère, i, 53, 57, 59, 61; ii, 328, 329. _See_ Jean Jacques
Fougère Audubon.

Francis, C. S., and Company, ii, 203.

Francis, David G., ii, 204.

_Franklin Journal_, Audubon's article, and Jones' "Romance of
the Rattlesnake" in, ii, 72.

Fulton, Robert, first steamer on the Ohio River, built by, i, 236.

Gallatin, Albert, i, 377;
Audubon's interview with, i, 390.

Galt, W. C., i, 197.

Gannet Rock, Audubon's account of approach to, i, 9.

Gannets (_Sula bassana_), i, 10.

Gaston, William, aid rendered Audubon by, at Savannah, ii, 25, 59.

General Assembly (Santo Domingo), new Constitution of, i, 49.

Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire, i, 411.

George IV, Gallatin on, i, 390.

George Street (Edinburgh), Audubon's apartments in, i, 437.

Gill, Theodore, i, 444; ii, 113.

Girard, Stephen, his reputed interest in Dacosta's mining
enterprises at "Mill Grove," i, 149.

Godwin, Parke, on Audubon's drawing of quadrupeds, ii, 236;
on a visit to Audubon at "Minnie's Land," ii, 236-238;
on Audubon in 1845, ii, 238.

Goodspeed, Charles E., i, 384, ii, 26, 190.

Gordon, Mrs. Alexander, ii, 302.

Gould, John, Bonaparte on, ii, 121;
Audubon on, ii, 121;
works of, ii, 121;
charges against, ii, 122;
anecdote of, ii, 123;
financial success of publications of, ii, 124; 224-225.

Gould, Mrs. John, Audubon on, ii, 121.

Grackle, Boat-tailed (_Megaquiscalus major_), Audubon's
drawing in Bonaparte's _Ornithology_, i, 330.

Gray, Asa, ii, 81.

Gray, John Edward, i, 354, 380, 444;
dedication to, ii, 280;
to J. W. Audubon, ii, 281.

Gray's Ferry (now Philadelphia), settlement of Alexander
Wilson as teacher at, i, 210, 211, 212, 216.

Great Bend (of the Mississippi), Audubon's and Rozier's
experience at, in 1810, i, 240.

Great Egg Harbor, work of Audubon at, i, 421, 424;
visit of Wilson and Ord, i, 422;
drawings of Audubon, i, 425.

Great Pine Forest (_Mauch Chunk_), sojourn and work of Audubon
at, i, 423, 425-426.

Great Russell Street (London), old print dealer of, i, 11-12, 377.

_Great Western_, ii, 190.

Grinnell, George Bird, ii, 283, 299, 309.

Groundhog, Audubon's early drawing of, i, 181.

Guépin, M. A., i, 73, 77.

Günther, Albert, on Rafinesque's letters and character, i, 297;
on Swainson and his correspondence, i, 400-403.

Hackberry, in the Ohio River basin, i, 188.

Haines, Reuben, visit of Audubon to "Mill Grove" with, i, 335, 339.

Haiti, i, 38, 52.

Hall, Capt. Basil, on the _Leander_, i, 364;
as Audubon's friend, i, 365, 367;
to John Murray, i, 378; return to England from the United
States, i, 407.

Hall, Harrison, publication of, i, 329; ii, 98.

Hall, James, notorious review of, i, 329; ii, 98.

Hall, J. Prescott, memorandum regarding _The Birds of America_,
ii, 204.

Hardin, John, ii, 295.

Harlan, Richard, i, 328;
on Ord, i, 328-329, 333, 334, 407, 439; ii, 9;
on Abert, ii, 3;
Audubon to, ii, 14;
to Mrs. Audubon, ii, 14;
to Audubon, ii, 28-29, 58.

Harris, Edward, meeting with Audubon, i, 331;
his friendships and career, i, 331, 333;
early letters to Audubon, i, 332, 344;
Audubon to, i, 448; ii, 26-27, 30, 31, 40-41,64-66, 125, 132,
134, 141-144, 147-148, 149, 151, 155, 157, 165, 170-173,
175, 182, 184-186, 234, 287;
memento to, ii, 49;
to Audubon, ii, 251;
dedication to, ii, 253;
Bachman's ultimatum to, ii, 268-270;
in _rôle_ of mediator, ii, 270;
Bachman to, ii, 291.

Harrison, William Henry, i, 307.

Harvard University, drawings and manuscripts at, i, 180, 307-308.

Haskell, Rev. John, ii, 271, 283.

Hatch, Capt. Joseph E., i, 347.

Havell, Daniel, i, 382.

Havell, George, i, 382.

Havell Henry Augustus, i, 382; ii, 189, 190, 191-192.

Havell, Robert, Senior, his family, i, 381-383;
his shop in Newman Street, i, 382;
partnership with his son, i, 383;
their enterprise in undertaking _The Birds of America_, i, 384;
his death, i, 384;
their relationship as read in the legends of Audubon's
plates, ii, 195-198.

Havell, Robert, Junior, i, 12;
Audubon's discovery of, i, 382;
a family of artists, i, 382;
partnership with his father and rebirth of _The Birds of
America_ in London, i, 384;
his "Zoölogical Gallery," i, 384;
advertisement of his business, i, 386;
story of the Prothonotary Warbler, i, 383-384, 405;
Swainson on, i, 414;
Audubon to, i, 433; ii, 33, 34, 35, 38;
to Audubon, ii, 51, 57, 58, 62, 174, 180, 186;
Audubon on closing up his business, ii, 188-191;
settlement in the United States, ii, 191-192;
his work, characteristics and death, ii, 192;
Audubon's memento to, ii, 192;
his genius and mastery of aquatint, ii, 193-195;
as Audubon's engraver, ii, 195;
history of his engravings of Audubon's _Birds_, ii, 196-198;
his copy of the work, ii, 203.

Havell, Robert, & Son, i, 12.

Havell, William, i, 383.

Haverhill (New Hampshire), experience of Alexander Wilson at,
i, 219.

Hawk, Cooper's. _See Falco Cooperii_.

Hawk, Great-footed, Duck Hawk (_Falco peregrinus anatum_),
original drawing of, i, 311.

Hawk, Harlan's (_Buteo borealis harlani_), i, 311.

Hay, Robert William, i, 377, 379.

Henderson (Kentucky), removal of Audubon and Rozier to, i, 236;
settlement, early name and population of, i, 236;
game and character of the country at, in 1810, i, 236;
first Kentucky steamer built at, i, 236;
Audubon's activities in 1810, i, 237;
return of Audubon to, in 1811, i, 242;
houses of Dr. Adam Rankin, i, 248;
original plot of town, i, 250, 252;
his purchase of land at, i, 250, 252;
his log house and store, i, 252;
town records, i, 252;
record of earthquakes, i, 280;
Rafinesque's visit, i, 285-287.

Hendersonville. _See_ Henderson.

Henry, Joseph, ii, 279.

Henshaw, Samuel, i, 308; ii, 197.

Henslow, John Stevens, i, 354, 399.

Heppenstall, John, i, 394.

Herschel, Sir William, i, 377.

"Highfield Hall," residence of William Swainson near
Tyttenhanger Green, i, 403.

_Hirundo serripennis_ (_Stelgidopteryx serripennis_), ii, 186.

Historical Society (New York), unpublished drawing in
collections of, i, 228;
original drawings of _The Birds of America_ at, ii, 304-306.

_History of British Birds_ (MacGillivray), ii, 113, 114, 130, 135;
(Yarrell), ii, 223;
on his completion of, ii, 225.

Holden, Edward, to George Ramsden, i, 351.

Holland, Dr. Henry, i, 377.

Hollander, Edward, i, 276.

_Hope_, Audubon's voyage in, i, 125.

Hopkins, Rev. John Henry, Audubon's acquaintance with, at
Pittsburgh, i, 343.

Hopkins, Samuel, i, 252;
Audubon's purchase of land, i, 252.

Hopkinson, John, i, 400.

Houston, Sam, Audubon's visit to, ii, 163;
his characterization of, ii, 164.

Howe, General William, visit at "Fatland Ford," i, 108.

Humboldt, Baron Alexander von, i, 356;
and Bachman, ii, 284;
Bachman's account of dinner to, ii, 284.

Huntington, Archer M., ii, 310.

Huron, Laurence, engagement of Ferdinand Rozier, with, i, 153;
his business relations with the Bakewell firm and with Rozier,
the elder, i, 156-157, 159-161, 165;
his award in the settlement of the contested accounts of
Francis Dacosta, i, 168;
dealings of Audubon & Rozier, i, 186.

Ingalls, William, Parkman's recommendation of, ii, 42.

Indigo, history of Audubon's investment in, i, 193.

Indians (Shawnee), feather hunting of, i, 238;
incident at camp of, i, 239;
(Osage), Audubon's experience with, i, 240.

Irish, Jedediah, i, 425.

Irving, Washington, ii, 53, 153.

Jackson, Andrew, Audubon as model for portrait of, i, 338,
378, ii, 155;
Audubon on, ii, 156.

Jackson, Daydon, i, 400.

Jameson, Robert, i, 357;
edition of Wilson's and Bonaparte's _Ornithology_, i, 439,
442; ii, 84.

Jaquemel (Santo Domingo), planter's experience at, i, 44-48.

Jardine, Sir William, to Audubon, i, 440;
edition of Wilson and Bonaparte's _Ornithology_, i, 442;
ii, 102.

Jay, Harriet, on Robert Buchanan, i, 21.

Jeanes, Joseph Y., his collection of original Audubon drawings
and manuscripts, i, 180, 181; ii, 50, 375-379.

Jefferson, Thomas, Embargo Act of, i, 193;
on the numbers of species of American birds, ii, 214.

Jenner, Edward, announcement of discovery of vaccination, i, 55;
account of behavior of young cuckoo (_Cuculus canorus_)
discredited by Waterton, ii, 90.

Johnson, John, ii, 203.

Johnson, Samuel, on biography, i, 7.

Johnson, William Garrett, Audubon at home of, i, 427, 432;
engagement of Mrs. Audubon by, i, 431;
authorization to fill position at home of, i, 434.

Jordan, David Starr, i, 287, 291.

Joue, i, 54.

Julien (of Paris), heroic conduct of, i, 76.

Juniata River, i, 274, 277.

Keel boats, on the Ohio and Mississippi, i, 234;
Audubon's journey by, in 1810, i, 238-241.

Kidd, Dr. John, i, 399.

Kidd, Joseph Bartholomew, i, 363, 373, 443;
and the "Ornithological Gallery," i, 446;
Audubon to, ii, 1; 35, 57, 61, 62.

Kinder, Robert & Company, dealings of Audubon and Rozier with,
i, 186, 197-199; ii, 355.

King, Thomas Butler, ii, 11-12, 14.

Kingfisher (_Ceryle alcyon_), Audubon's early drawing of, i, 180.

Kirtland, Dr. Jared P., i, 291;
"Note Book" of, i, 292.

Kite, Mississippi (_Ictinia mississippiensis_), Ord's charge
concerning, i, 228;
similarity in one of Wilson's and Audubon's figures of, i, 228;
misnaming of sex in, i, 229;
Audubon's legends on original drawing of, i, 229;
Wilson's and Audubon's first experience with, i, 229-230; 316.

Knox, Dr. John, i, 358.

Koster, Henry, ii, 117.

Krudener, Baron, i, 436; ii, 38.

Labrador, Audubon's experiences in, ii, 45-49;
expense and results of expedition to, ii, 50.

_La Caille_, i, 29.

Lacroix, Formon de Boisclair & Jacques, Jean Audubon's claims
against, i, 33;
bills of slaves of, ii, 331-333; 338.

_La Dauphine_, i, 31.

Lafayette, Marquis de, Louis P. Caire to, i, 351.

"La Gerbetière," i, 85, 96, 120, 126;
as boyhood home of Audubon, i, 136-137, 144-145;
Audubon's last visit to, i, 137;
situation of, i, 136-138;
in 1913, i, 138-143;
Jean Audubon's restoration of, i, 143;
description in old deed of, i, 144;
changes of a century, i, 144.

Lake Champlain, tour of Audubon to, in 1824, i, 343.

Lake Ontario, tour of Audubon to, in 1824, i, 343.

Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Antoine de Monet, i, 13.

_La Marianne_, Jean Audubon as cabin boy in, i, 28;
at Louisburg, i, 28;
Jean Audubon as lieutenant of, i, 29.

Landsdowne, Marquis of, i, 398.

Landseer, Sir Edwin, criticism of painting by, i, 366.

Lanman, Charles, proposal of, i, 17.

_L'Annette_, Jean Audubon's command of and interest in, i, 34;
concerning sale and settlement of claims in, i, 121, 265.

La Rochelle, as port of Jean Audubon's ships, i, 29, 277.
_See_ "Audubon of."

Laval, John, award in the settlement of Dacosta's disputed
accounts, i, 168.

Lavigne, L., i, 34, 46, 57, 83, 87, 116, 128, 144, 269.

Lavigne, Mme. L., i, 269.

Lawrence, Sir Thomas, i, 356, 377, 380, 393-394.

Lawson, Alexander, Wilson to, i, 212;
Wilson's debt to, as the engraver of his _Ornithology_, i, 213;
the daughter of, i, 219;
his statement regarding the mysterious flycatcher, i, 227;
as Bonaparte's engraver, i, 330;
report of his interview with Audubon, i, 330.

Lawson, Malvinia, on Wilson's publisher, i, 219.

Lea, Isaac, on Rafinesque, i, 297; ii, 4, 56, 95, 98, 422.

Leach, William Elford, i, 353.

_Le Comte d'Artois_. _See Count of Artois_.

Le Conte, Joseph, i, 171.

Lehman, George, ii, 2, 9, 12, 25.

_Le Marquis de Lévy_, Jean Audubon's command of, i, 31.

_Le Printemps_, i, 29.

_Le Propre_, i, 30.

Les Sables d'Olonne, Pierre Audubon's family at, i, 26;
its hostility to the Revolution, i, 27;
as home port of Jean Audubon's ships, i, 28;
mission of Jean Audubon to, i, 80-81; 83.

Leslie, Charles Robert, comment on the _American Ornithology_,
i, 217.

"Les Tourterelles," death of Mme. Audubon at, i, 263;
death of Rosa Audubon at, i, 269.

Le Sueur, Charles Alexandre, i, 294, 328;
appearance of, i, 333; ii, 157.

Letters in facsimile, "Audubon & Bakewell" to Rozier, i, 251;
Audubon to Edward Harris, i, 332;
Samuel Latham Mitchell to Dr. Barnes, i, 337;
William Swainson to Audubon, i, 402;
Charles Lucien Bonaparte to Audubon, i, 417;
George Parkman to Audubon, ii, 43;
Robert Havell to Audubon, ii, 51;
William MacGillivray to Audubon, ii, 132;
Edward Harris to Audubon, ii, 251;
John Bachman to George Oates, ii, 282;
Audubon to Edward Harris, ii, 287.

_L'Eveillé_, Jean Audubon's command of, i, 82.

Lincoln, Thomas, ii, 43;
"Lincoln's Finch," ii, 45, 50.

Linnæan Society, Audubon's election to, i, 397;
manuscripts in possession of, i, 400.

_L'Instituteur_, Jean Audubon's command of, i, 82.

Lissabé, Mme. Jean Louis, suit by, i, 28, 263.

_Literary Gazette_ (London), on Brown's _Illustrations_, i, 444;
announcement of publication of the _Ornithological Biography_,
i, 444;
Audubon's premature obituary in, ii, 2.

Little and Brown, Messrs., ii, 230.

Liverpool, arrival of Audubon at, in 1826, i, 350;
his reception and friends at, i, 352-355;
exhibition of Audubon's drawings at, i, 354.

Livingston, Robert M., first steamer on the Ohio River, built
by, i, 236.

Lizars, Daniel, Audubon to, i, 385.

Lizars, William Home, as Audubon's engraver, i, 358-359, 361,
375, 384, 442-443;
his plates of _The Birds of America_, i, 195-199.

Lockhart, John Gibson, i, 445.

London Colney, residence of William Swainson at, i, 403;
death of Mrs. Swainson at, i, 403.

London, recollections of Audubon in, i, 11;
site of Havell's engraving establishment in, i, 12;
Audubon in, i, 377-419;
his first impressions of, i, 377;
rebirth of _The Birds of America_ in, i, 384;
his dislike of, i, 397;
completion of his _Birds_ in, ii, 177.

Loon (_Gavia immer_), "Great Northern Diver," original drawing
of, ii, 47.

Loudon, John C., editorial enterprise of, i, 399.

Louisburg, Jean Audubon made prisoner at, i, 28.

Louisville (Kentucky), diary of a journey from Philadelphia to,
in 1807, i, 187-192;
establishment of Audubon & Rozier at, i, 192;
prospects and hospitality of the people, i, 196-198;
birth of Victor Gifford Audubon at, i, 198;
arrival of Alexander Wilson at, i, 205;
a meeting of rivals at, i, 220-226;
in 1810, i, 233;
Audubon's legal troubles at, i, 260.

Lubbock, Sir John, baron Avebury, characteristics in youth of,
i, 93.

Lyceum of Natural History (New York), activities of in 1817,
i, 171;
introduction of Audubon to, i, 336.

Macaulay, Thomas Babington, on Addison, i, 6.

MacGillivray, John, ii, 298.

MacGillivray, William, i, 12; ii, 108, 113-114;
his assistance to Audubon, ii, 125-138;
to Audubon, ii, 126-128, 130-132, 134;
his methods of work, ii, 127-129;
his _History of British Birds_, ii, 130, 135-136;
his contract with Audubon, ii, 134;
character and scholarship, ii, 134-136;
his writings, ii, 135;
Audubon's acknowledgments to, ii, 137;
his copy of the _Ornithological Biography_, ii, 138;
Audubon at work with, ii, 178-180, 181;
Audubon's tour with, ii, 182;
Audubon's memorandum of account with, ii, 188.

MacLeay, William Sharp, ii, 94.

Magpie (_Pica rustica_), Audubon's early drawing of, i, 178.

Mallory, E., on Mrs. John James Audubon, ii, 303.

Mallory, Eliza, ii, 283.

Mallory, Georgianna Richards. _See_ Mrs. Victor Gifford Audubon.

Manchester, visit of Audubon at, in 1826, i, 356;
Audubon's success in canvassing at, i, 376.

Marigny, Bernard, his birth, i, 70;
acquisition of "Fontainebleau," i, 70;
his service in France and return to the United States, i, 71;
act of the Government to establish his disputed claim to land,
i, 71;
origin of "Fontainebleau," and description of his property,
i, 71;
foundation of Mandeville, i, 71;
friendship with Audubon, i, 72;
his death, i, 72.

Marigny myth, i, 68-71.

Mark, Edward L., i, 308.

Marten, Pennant's, Fisher (_Mustela pennanti_), Baird and
Audubon on, ii, 263.

Martin, Catharine, i, 27.

Martin, Maria, ii, 6, 32, 61;
Audubon to, ii, 65, 156;
marriage of, ii, 281;
dedication to, ii, 281, 283.
_See_ Mrs. John Bachman.

Martin, Marie Anne, i, 26.

Martin, Pierre, Jean Audubon as sailor under, i, 30.

Mason, Joseph R., as Audubon's assistant in 1820-1822, i, 307,
312, 313-316;
his return to Philadelphia, i, 321; ii, 69.

Mauch Chunk. _See_ Great Pine Forest.

McKenney, Thomas L., on Audubon, ii, 52.

McLane, Louis, ii, 5;
Levi Woodbury to, ii, 23.

Meadville (Pennsylvania), "Episode" of Audubon at, in 1824,
i, 341-343;
and itinerant portrait at, i, 342.

Mease, Dr. William, i, 327.

Merchant-traders, means of travel and hardships of, i, 234-236;
their journeys by flatboat and horse to and from the West,
i, 234-236.

Mill of Audubon, Bakewell and Pears, at Henderson (Kentucky),
history of the building, operation and failure of, i, 254-257;
lease of land for, i, 254;
description of relic of, in 1879 and 1883, i, 254;
difficulties with operation of, i, 255;
cost, conversion and destruction of, i, 255;
reorganization for working of, i, 256;
bill rendered for products of, i, 256;
final failure and closure of, i, 257;
Audubon's financial and legal troubles following failure of,
i, 257-261.

"Mill Grove," Jean Audubon's purchase, i, 37, 105;
Audubon's arrival at, i, 99-101;
tenant and rent of, i, 101;
acquisition and preservation by the Wetherills, i, 102;
situation and characteristics, i, 102;
old conveyances and designation, i, 103;
first miller and builder, i, 104;
mills and farm house at, i, 104;
the Prevost mortgage, i, 105, 122;
Jean Audubon's lease and inventory, i, 105;
stay of Audubon at, i, 106;
Jean Audubon's portrait at, i, 106;
bird studies at, i, 106;
discovery of lead and arrival of Dacosta, i, 113;
Dacosta's one-half interest and exploitation of mine, i, 114;
analysis of his lead ore, i, 114;
Claude François Rozier's interest, i, 115;
the Audubon, Dacosta, Rozier partnership and its difficulties,
i, 115;
instructions concerning farmhouse at, i, 118;
Audubon and Rozier as agents for conduct and sale of, i, 132;
Audubon's and Rozier's duties at, i, 146;
status of house in their "Articles," i, 147;
story of later mining enterprises at, i, 148-150, 152-153,
167-170;
consideration for sale of remaining Audubon and Rozier
interests to Dacosta and Company, i, 149;
division of the property, and sale of the Audubon and Rozier
rights, i, 150, 152-153;
Audubon's conflicting references to sale of, i, 158, 159-160,
162, 165-168;
difficulties over conditional sale of, i, 168;
unraveling the tangle, i, 169;
Dacosta's contested accounts, and award in their settlement,
i, 168;
sequel to story of mine at, i, 169;
products of mine at, i, 199.

Milestown (Pennsylvania), Alexander Wilson, as teacher at, i, 212.

Miller, Sarah, Wilson to, i, 206.

"Minnie's Land," purchase of estate of, ii, 234;
building of house at, ii, 234;
Audubon at, ii, 236-238;
Audubon's account of, ii, 245-246;
houses of Audubon's sons at, ii, 294-295, 311-312;
the "Cave" at, ii, 295, 312;
departure of Mrs. John James Audubon from, ii, 300;
building activities and changes at, ii, 309;
present condition of original houses at, ii, 309-311;
early representations of Audubon's house at, ii, 311.

Miquelon Island, voyage of Jean Audubon to, i, 29.

Mississippi River, Audubon's cruise on in 1820, i, 307.

Missouri River, Audubon's experiences and discoveries on, in
1843, ii, 252-256.

Mitchell, Doctor Samuel Latham, his friendship with Audubon,
i, 171;
his repute and activities, i, 171;
as friend of Rafinesque, i, 290;
his introduction of Audubon and letter to Dr. Barnes, i, 336.

Mocquard, Françoise, i, 55, 86.

Morris, George Spencer, i, 331.

Morris, Samuel C., purchase of "Mill Grove" by, i, 105.

Morristown (New Jersey), stay of Audubon at, i, 99.

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, as Audubon's guest, ii, 311.

Morton, Countess of, as patron and pupil of Audubon, i, 365.

Morton, Earl of, record of a visit to the home of, i, 363.

Morton, Samuel George, ii, 154, 171, 172.

Moynet (Moynette, Moinet), Anne. _See_ Mme. Jean Audubon.

_Muguet_, i, 56, 57, 59, 61. _See_ Mme. Gabriel Loyen du
Puigaudeau.

Mulattoes, numbers and plight of, in Santo Domingo, i, 43;
as slave holders, i, 44;
revolt under Ogé, i, 50;
first clash with whites at Les Cayes, i, 50;
union with the blacks and beginning of general revolt, i, 51.

Murray, John, i, 377;
Basil Hall to, i, 378.

Nantes, Jean Audubon at, i, 30-32;
his places of residence, i, 36, 57-58, 86-87;
in the Revolution, i, 59, 73-74;
Committee of Public Safety and National Guard of, i, 74;
attack and siege of, i, 74;
acceptance of republican constitution by, i, 75;
reign of terror under Carrier at, i, 75;
fate of Vendeans at, i, 75;
savior of, i, 76;
victims of Carrier and the plague at, i, 75;
execution of Charette at, i, 76;
raided by "Tête-Carée," i, 77;
restoration of peace at, i, 77;
revolutionary records of, i, 78;
Jean Audubon's activities, i, 78-82;
his death at, i, 87;
his appreciation by, i, 83.

Natchez (Mississippi), visit of Audubon, i, 308;
loss of his portfolio at, i, 309;
as teacher at, i, 321;
his first lessons in oils, i, 321;
engagement of Mrs. Audubon, i, 322;
illness of Audubon, i, 324.

National Assembly of Paris, Declaration of Rights, of, i, 49;
vacillating policies of, i, 51.

_National Gazette_, on Audubon, ii, 41-42, 50-51.

_Natural History of Deeside and Braemar_, ii, 136.

Neuwied, Maximillian, ii, 255.

Newark (New Jersey), Alexander Wilson at, i, 210.

New Castle (Delaware), landing of Alexander Wilson at, i, 209.

New Haven (Connecticut), establishment of William and Benjamin
Bakewell at, i, 201.

Newman Street, Havell's shop in, i, 12.

New Orleans (Louisiana), memorial to Audubon at, i, 13;
Alexander Wilson at, i, 207;
Audubon at, i, 306-310;
his struggles to gain a footing at, i, 310-312;
as teacher at, i, 318;
settlement and financial difficulties at, i, 319;
engagement of Mrs. Audubon at, i, 322;
Audubon embarks for Liverpool at, i, 347;
his observations at, i, 348.

Newton, Alfred, i, 444; ii, 223.

New York (New York), memorials to Audubon at, i, 13;
Jean Audubon a prisoner at, i, 32;
his release, i, 32, 34;
disbanding of the British army at, i, 35;
Audubon's introduction to, i, 99;
pestilence at, i, 99, 135;
Audubon's original drawings at, i, 228;
Vanderlyn's portrait of Andrew Jackson in City Hall of, i, 338;
Audubon's description of landing at, in 1836, ii, 146;
his success in canvassing at, ii, 153;
his old residence and estate, ii, 234-236, 310-312.

_New York Herald_, account of "Mill Grove" mine in, i, 114.

Niagara Falls (New York), Alexander Wilson at, i, 216;
Audubon at, i, 340; ii, 167.

Nighthawk (_Chordeiles virginianus_), Audubon's early drawing
of, i, 180.

Nolte, Vincent, on Audubon in 1811, i, 277;
his journey from Pittsburgh to Lexington, i, 276-279; 352.

Northumberland, Duke of, i, 377.

Nuttall, Thomas, collection of western birds of, ii, 147, 149,
153-154, 156;
meeting with Audubon, ii, 150;
career and writings, ii, 150.

_Nymphæa_. _See_ Water-lily.

"Oakley," plantation and house of, i, 313-315;
Audubon's pupil and his life as tutor at, i, 315-318;
his drawings at, i, 316; ii, 74.

Oates, George, ii, 211, 218.

Ogé, James, rebellion and death of, i, 50;
its effect upon the Santo Domingan whites, i, 50.

Ohio River, Audubon's description of journey on, i, 195;
Wilson's journey in 1810, i, 205;
traffic of the "ark" and keel boat, in 1810, i, 234-236;
first steamer, and steam traffic on, i, 236;
Audubon's experience at the mouth of, i, 238;
breaking up of the ice in, i, 241;
Rafinesque on fishes of, i, 292;
Audubon's descent of, in 1820, i, 307.

Ord, George, on Alexander Wilson, i, 211;
as Wilson's editor and biographer, i, 217, 223-225;
his octavo edition of Wilson, i, 223;
defense of Wilson and charge against Audubon, i, 226-228; 230;
basis of his attack on Audubon, i, 227, 231-232;
his opposition to Audubon, i, 328-329; 333, 339, 422;
ii, 4, 27, 55, 61, 72, 80, 83;
as Waterton's correspondent, ii, 87-88, 91; 98, 284.

Orleans, Duke of, as Audubon's patron, i, 3, 411-412.

_Ornithological Biography_, description of Bird Rock in, i, 9;
story of the Pewee, i, 99, 106-107;
on the Velvet Duck, i, 182;
journey down the Ohio River, i, 195;
Alexander Wilson's visit to Louisville, i, 220-223;
Wilson on the Whooping Crane, i, 227;
discrepancies in "Episodes" in, i, 273;
"Louisville in Kentucky," i, 274;
"The Prairie," i, 274, 282-284;
"A Wild Horse," i, 274-276;
"The Eccentric Naturalist," i, 274, 285-300;
"The Earthquake," i, 279;
"The Hurricane," i, 280;
"The Regulators," i, 281;
"Colonel Boone," i, 281;
Natchez, i, 308;
on _The Birds of America_, i, 343;
publication of, i, 438;
MacGillivray's assistance in, i, 438;
rivals of, i, 438-439; 442-445;
American copyright of, i, 439;
publisher's announcement, i, 444-445, 448;
the _Athenæum_ on, ii, 84-85, 140, 142;
W. B. O. Peabody on, ii, 85;
Featherstonhaugh on, ii, 85;
on the authorship of, ii, 87-89, 102-103, 103-109;
on new species in, ii, 109-111;
"Ornithophilus" on, ii, 111, 112;
Swainson on, ii, 113;
and MacGillivray, ii, 125-138;
Audubon on American Edition of, ii, 134, 141;
MacGillivray's copy of, ii, 138;
John Wilson on, ii, 139;
third volume of, ii, 144, 178-180;
fourth volume of, ii, 181;
completion of, ii, 186;
valedictory to reader, ii, 187;
memorandum of accounts with MacGillivray for assistance in,
ii, 188;
Audubon on residual stock of, ii, 189.

Ornithological Gallery, plan and abandonment of, by Audubon
and Kidd, i, 446.

Orr, Charles, correspondence of Alexander Wilson, with,
i, 210-212.

Osprey, Fish Hawk (_Pandion haliaëtus_), early drawing by
Audubon, i, 182.

Otter, original painting and exhibition of, i, 394.

Oven-bird (_Seiurus aurocapillus_), "Golden-crowned Thrush,"
Audubon's original drawing of, i, 425.

Owen, David Dale, i, 294.

Owen, Sir Richard, i, 354.

Owensboro (Kentucky), i, 236.

Oxford Street (London), i, 11.

Page, Benjamin, i, 256.

Paimbœuf, i, 32, 80, 137.

Palmer, Sarah White, i, 124.

Palmer, Theodore Sherman, ii, 293.

Pamar, R., i, 318, 348.

Paris, in 1828, i, 2;
Audubon at, i, 74, 408-413, 448;
his reception and patronage at, i, 410-413.

Parkman, Dr. George, ii, 29, 35, 36;
to Audubon, ii, 42-43, 57, 59, 134, 141;
Audubon to, ii, 227.

Patterson, W. D., i, 231; ii, 352.

Peabody, W. B. O., i, 231; ii, 200.

Peale, Rembrandt, i, 328.

Peale, Robert, i, 328.

Peale, Titian R., his drawings of birds, i, 330.

Pears, Thomas W., i, 124;
as partner of Audubon and Bakewell, i, 254;
his withdrawal, i, 255, 426.

Peel, Sir Robert, i, 377.

Penal laws, in England, i, 395.

Penn, John, i, 105.

Penn, William, land purchase by, i, 103.

Percy, Capt. Robert, Mrs. Audubon's school at plantation of,
i, 322;
Audubon at plantation of, i, 324.

Perkins, Thomas H., ii, 28, 29, 39, 150.

Perkioming Consolidated Mining Company, i, 169.

Perkioming Creek, i, 103-104, 106.

Perrytown (Sutton, New Hampshire), i, 284.

Pewee, Phœbe (_Sayornis phœbe_), Audubon on, i, 99;
his first study of, i, 106;
original drawing of, i, 180.

Pewee, Wood (_Myiochanes virens_), Audubon's original drawing
of, i, 180, 425.

Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), reception of Audubon at, i, 327-335;
a meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences at, i, 333;
ii, 154.

Philarète-Chasles, impressions of Audubon's exhibition at
Edinburgh, i, 359.

Phillips, Dr. Benjamin, ii, 144-145, 223-224;
Audubon to, ii, 244-246.

Phœbe, Say's (_Sayornis sayus_), i, 330.

_Picus auduboni_, ii, 113.

Pigeon, Passenger (_Ectopistes migratorius_), Audubon's
original painting of, i, 363;
Audubon on, i, 368.

Pirrie, Eliza, as Audubon's pupil, and her romantic history,
i, 315, 317-318.

Pirrie, James, i, 315;
Audubon's drawings made at plantation of, i, 316.

Pirrie, Mrs. James, engagement of Audubon by, i, 313;
her home and family, i, 313-318.

Pitois, M., i, 432.

Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), record of journey from Philadelphia
to, in 1807, i, 187-191;
characterization, growth and population of, i, 191;
Wilson's description of, in 1810, i, 204; 343, 344.

Plaisance, Samuel, i, 123, 265.

Planters (Santo Domingo), their prosperity and grievances,
i, 42-44;
their morality and vicissitudes, i, 44-46;
their revolt, i, 49-51.

_Polly_, Audubon's and Rozier's voyage on, i, 134-135, 187.

Pope, John, i, 237.

Pornic, mission of Citizen Audubon to, i, 79.

Porter, Dr. Edmund, to Dr. Thomas Miner, i, 333.

Posey, Fayette, i, 258.

Presque Isle, i, 340.

Priestley, Joseph, i, 154, 200-201.

Prospectus, of _American Ornithology_ (Wilson), i, 217;
of _The Birds of America_, i, 373;
of first octavo edition, ii, 211-214;
reproduction of (for 1828) for original folio, ii, 386-388;
reproduction of (by J. W. Audubon), for second (partial)
American edition of original folio, ii, 389-391.

Provost, Henry Augustin, i, 105-106, 122.

_Quadrupeds of North America_, i, 17;
Bachman to Audubon on, ii, 208;
Audubon to Brewer on, ii, 209;
on Bachman's coöperation in, ii, 210;
Audubon to Baird on, ii, 219-221, 222, 226-227, 233;
Audubon to Parkman, ii, 227;
to W. O. Ayres, ii, 229;
Parke Godwin on, ii, 236;
editions of, ii, 261;
Bachman on text of, ii, 261-263, 269-272, 281-283;
Baird on materials for, ii, 263, 264, 274, 276-277, 278;
Audubon on letterpress of, ii, 265;
Harris as mediator in difficulties with letterpress of, ii, 269;
coöperation of authors in, ii, 273;
subscribers to, ii, 274;
Louis Agassiz on, ii, 274;
title of text of, ii, 275;
English edition of first volume of text of, ii, 280;
dedication copy of first volume of text of, ii, 280;
J. E. Gray on, ii, 281;
manuscript of text of, ii, 283;
_Illustrations_ of, ii, 285;
in octavo, ii, 293.

Quebec, Audubon's visit and success in, ii, 244.

_Queen_, Jean Audubon's fight in, i, 35.

_Queen Charlotte_ (_La Reine Charlotte_), Captain Jean Audubon's
command of, at Yorktown, i, 34.

Quinarianism, curious tenets and advocacy of, ii, 94, 95, 104,
109, 114, 116, 117.

Quincy, Josiah, ii, 29, 150.

Rabin, Mlle., birth of son of, i, 52;
as characterized by Jean Audubon, i, 52;
record of physician of, i, 53;
her feeble health and death, i, 56;
suppression of her name, i, 60;
early and assumed names of her son, i, 62;
as characterized by her son, i, 63, 66;
fictitious account of death of, i, 67.

Rabin, Jean, i, 53, 57, 61, 62, 63, 64, 263, 264; ii, 361,
362, 364. _See_ Jean Jacques Fougère Audubon.

Rafinesque, Constantine Samuel (Schmaltz), i, 171;
his travels, writings and career, i, 285-300;
Audubon on, i, 285;
and the bats, i, 286;
his early life and precocity, i, 287;
his bibliography, i, 287;
visit to America, i, 288;
life in Sicily, i, 288;
marriage and embitterment, i, 289;
return to America and shipwreck, i, 290;
visits Audubon, i, 290;
his "scarlet-headed swallow" and fictitious fishes, i, 291;
his Ichthyology of the Ohio River and "Devil-Jack
Diamond-fish," i, 292;
at Transylvania University, i, 294;
originality and independence, i, 295;
impractical projects and inventions, i, 295-296, 298;
troubles at Lexington and return to Philadelphia, i, 296;
his mania for new species, i, 296;
his letters, i, 297;
his multifarious writings, final struggles and death,
i, 297-299;
his ardor and fatal versatility, i, 299;
contemporary notice of, i, 333.

"Rafinesquiana," i, 287.

_Rambler_, i, 7.

Ramsden, George, Edward Holden to, i, 351.

Rankin, Dr. Adam, i, 238, 242;
his "Meadow Brook Farm," i, 248;
birth of John Woodhouse Audubon at home of, i, 248.

Rankin, William, i, 248.

Rathbone, Richard, introduction of Audubon to, i, 352.

Rathbone, William, Sr., assistance rendered Audubon by, i, 352.

Rathbone, Mrs. William, Sr., at "Greenbank," i, 353;
gift to Audubon by, i, 355.

Rathbone, William, Jr., i, 352.

Rattlesnake, Audubon's account of drawing of, i, 316;
climbing habits of, ii, 53-54, 64;
Audubon on, ii, 71-76;
Dr. Jones' charge concerning, ii, 72;
Audubon's error in description of, ii, 76-78;
vindication of Audubon's drawing and account of the fangs
of, ii, 79.

_Rattlesnake_, encounter of the _Polly_ with, i, 134-135, 187.

Redbanks. _See_ Henderson.

Redbird, Summer Tanager (_Piranga rubra_), Audubon's drawing
of, i, 316.

Redouté, Pierre Joseph, works and friendship of, i, 411.

Red River (Arkansas), drawing of the Chuck-will's-widow on,
i, 182.

Redstart, American (_Setophaga ruticilla_), Audubon's early
drawings of, i, 181, 316.

Rees, Abraham, i, 216.

Rees, William J., ii, 62.

"_Regulus cuvieri_," "Cuvier's Wren," i, 180, 354; ii, 215, 219.

Rhoads, Samuel N., i, 291; ii, 202.

Richardson, John, ii, 98, 105, 106.

Ricordel, Mme. _See_ Mme. Jean Audubon.

Rider, Alexander, i, 331.

Ridgely, D., ii, 38.

_Ripley_, the voyage of, ii, 43-50.

Robertson, John Argyle, ii, 183.

Robin, American (_Planesticus migratorius_), Audubon's early
drawing of, i, 182.

Rochambeau, Comte de, i, 34.

Rochefort, i, 30, 83, 93, 94.

Roe Lockwood & Son, ii, 296.

Roget, Dr. Peter Mark, i, 377.

Roscoe, Edward, i, 352, 353, 354.

Roscoe, William, i, 218.

Ross, David (and Company), i, 57, 121-123, 265, 266.

Rothschild, Baron, Audubon's account of interview with, ii, 206.

Rowan, William, i, 400.

Roy, Constance (Rozier), i, 245.

Royal Society (London), Audubon's election to membership in,
i, 437;
William Swainson on his election, ii, 97.

Rozier, Charles A., i, 146.

Rozier, Claude François, i, 147;
Ferdinand Rozier to, i, 149-152;
his family, i, 152;
his death, i, 152;
and Benjamin Bakewell, i, 154;
Audubon to, i, 154, 156-158, 161-163, 164-166.

Rozier, Felix, i, 246.

Rozier, Ferdinand, i, 146;
his "Articles," i, 147;
to his father, i, 149-152;
at Philadelphia, i, 153;
as attorney for Lieutenant Audubon and his wife, i, 153;
his business plans, i, 156-158, 161-162, 165;
his diary, i, 187-192;
Thomas Bakewell to, i, 196;
William Bakewell to, i, 199;
removes from Louisville to Henderson, i, 236;
removes with Audubon to Ste. Geneviève, i, 237-241;
dissolves partnership with Audubon, i, 241;
Audubon to, i, 243;
career of, i, 244-246;
his death, i, 246;
"Audubon & Bakewell" to, i, 251; ii, 359.

Rozier, Firman A., i, 246.

Rozier, François Denis, i, 154.

Rozier (Colas), Renée Angelique, death of, i, 152.

Rozier, Tom J., i, 196.

Rozier, Welton A., manuscripts in possession of, i, 149,
168, 187.

_Rue de Crébillon_, Jean Audubon's home in, i, 57.

Rush, Dr. Benjamin, i, 288.

Russell, W. Gurdon, ii, 204.

Saget (mayor of Nantes), i, 77.

St. Albans, i, 403.

St. Augustine, Audubon's description of, ii, 12;
hunting birds at, ii, 12.

St. Francisville (Louisiana), engagement of Audubon at, i, 313;
origin of name, i, 314;
character of country and abundance of birds, i, 314;
Audubon as tutor at, i, 315-318;
Mrs. Audubon's school, i, 322;
former wealth of country, i, 323, 345.

Sainte Geneviève (Missouri), Audubon's journey to, i, 237-241;
dissolution of partnership with Rozier at, i, 241;
Audubon's subsequent visits, i, 242;
Ferdinand Rozier's career at, i, 244-247.

St. John, Mrs. Horace Roscoe Stebbing, i, 17.

St. Johns, ii, 244.

Saint Louis (Santo Domingo), i, 39, 41.

Sammis, Capt. S., i, 131, 156, 158, 159, 164, 187.

Sandpiper, Spotted (_Actitis macularia_), Audubon's early
drawing of, i, 249.

Sanson, Dr., as Jean Audubon's physician, i, 53;
his bill of services, resources and favorite remedies, i, 53;
his inoculations for smallpox, i, 55;
his treatment of Audubon's mother, i, 56;
for complete text of bill, with translation, _see_
ii, 314-327.

Santo Domingo, pre-revolutionary lure of, i, 36;
Jean Audubon's career in, i, 36-38;
effect of the Declaration of Rights on, i, 37;
slave trade at, i, 39-41;
cost of slaves at, i, 40;
prosperity and praise of, i, 42;
population of whites and blacks in 1790, i, 42;
plight of mulattoes and history of slavery in, i, 43;
Baron de Wimpffen's experience with society and plantation
life, i, 44-48;
unjust taxation, i, 44, 46;
debasement of morals, i, 45;
bossals, Creoles and mulattoes, i, 44-47;
outbreak and progress of the Revolution, i, 49-51;
the Revolution in relation to the history of Jean and Jean
Jacques Fougère Audubon, i, 50;
Les Cayes first touched by Revolution of, i, 50;
first blood drawn in the North, i, 50;
Ogé's futile rebellion, i, 50;
later events in rising of blacks and mulattoes against
whites, i, 50;
physicians and their remedies in, i, 54.

Sautron, i, 139.

Savenay, i, 78.

Say, Thomas, i, 294, 330, 333-334.

_Sayornis saya_, i, 330.

Sayre, Robert H., ii, 7.

Scott, Sir Walter, on Audubon's exhibition, i, 359;
Audubon on, i, 365;
on Audubon, i, 366-368; 370.

Scott, Winfield, ii, 242.

Searles, Edward F., ii, 203.

Seaside Finch (_Passerherbulus maritimus_), original drawing
of, i, 425.

Sedgwick, Adam, i, 399.

Selby, Prideaux John, Audubon's visit to, i, 374;
_Illustrations of British Ornithology_ by, i, 375;
to Audubon, i, 375; ii, 102.

_Serinettes_, i, 163.

Shannonville (Pennsylvania), i, 102.

Sharp, William, i, 209.

Shattuck, Dr. George C., ii, 29, 35, 43, 150, 151, 228.

Shattuck, Dr. George Cheyne, as Audubon's assistant, ii, 43;
as philanthropist, ii, 43; 228.

Shippingport (Kentucky), Audubon as peripatetic portrait
painter at, i, 303; 326, 345.

Slack, Elijah, on Audubon's term of service at the Western
Museum, i, 304;
as president of Cincinnati College, i, 305.

Slaves (in Santo Domingo), numbers delivered at Les Cayes, i, 31;
as a basis of wealth, i, 39;
trade in, i, 39-41;
numbers and mortality of, i, 42;
management of, i, 43-47;
diseases of, i, 46;
cost and taxes of, i, 46;
revolt of, i, 49-51.

Smallpox, i, 55.

Smith, Rebecca (Bakewell), i, 201.

Smith, Rev. Sidney, i, 369, 372.

Smythe, Henry A., ii, 310.

Sparrow, Baird's (_Emberiza bairdii_, Audubon, 1844; now
_Ammodramus bairdi_), ii, 259.

Sparrow, Harris's (_Zonotrichia querula_), ii, 253.

Sparrow, Swamp (_Melospiza georgiana_), Audubon's early
drawing of, i, 249.

Sparrow, Vesper (_Poœcetes gramineus_), "Bay-winged Bunting,"
original drawing of, i, 425.

Spencer, John C., ii, 242.

Sprague, Isaac, ii, 252.

Stanilaus, Francis Alexander (Baron de Wimpffen), i, 44;
his experiences and observations as planter in Santo Domingo,
i, 44-48.

Stanley, Edward George Geoffrey Smith (fourteenth Earl of
Derby), i, 354, 380, 437.

"Stanley Hawk" (_Falco stanleyi_, now _Accipiter cooperi_),
Cooper's Hawk. _See Falco_.

Starling, Edmund L., i, 236, 250, 252, 256-257.

Sterling, Mrs. Frederick A., i, 342.

Stoddard, Rev. Charles Augustus, tribute to Mrs. John James
Audubon, ii, 303.

Stone, Charles F., ii, 311.

Stone, Witmer, ii, 214.

Stuart, Gilbert, i, 336.

_Sturnella neglecta_, Western Meadow Lark, ii, 254.

Sully, Thomas, i, 2, 328;
Audubon as pupil of, i, 334;
to Audubon, i, 334;
Audubon to, i, 339; ii, 68-71.

Sully, Mrs. Thomas, Audubon to, i, 389.

Swainson, William, on Rafinesque, i, 289, 377, 395;
correspondence of, i, 400;
Audubon to, i, 400-401, 405-407, 409-410; ii, 95-97, 99,
101-103, 112, 176-177, 353;
to Audubon, i, 402, 413-414, 422-423, 430-431; ii, 97-101,
103-108;
characteristics, i, 402;
on Audubon, i, 403;
Audubon at home of, i, 404;
with Audubon in Paris, i, 408-412, 415; ii, 84;
in controversy over the _Ornithological Biography_, ii, 88,
93-109;
as leader in the Quinarian movement, ii, 93-95, 114, 116-117;
Audubon's proposal for assistance of, ii, 102;
his response and answer to a later letter, ii, 103-108;
their subsequent relations, ii, 111-114;
as biographer, ii, 113-116;
_Literary Gazette_ on, ii, 113;
as the "British Cuvier," ii, 114;
his career and adversities, ii, 117;
his emigration and death, ii, 118, 173.

_Sylvia_ (_Helinaria_) _swainsonii_, ii, 113.

Syme, John, i, 361.

_Synopsis of Birds of North America_, publication of, ii, 186;
number of species recognized in, 186.

Tawapatee Bottom, i, 240.

Taylor, Richard C., ii, 77.

Thayer, John E., i, 307, 363; ii, 227, 229.

Tête-Carée. _See_ Dupré.

Texas, Audubon's visit to Republic of, ii, 163-165.

Thackeray, George, ii, 146.

_The Foresters_, i, 216.

Thomas, William, i, 101, 113, 115, 116, 117, 118, 150, 151.

Thrush, Hermit (_Hylocichla ustulata_), i, 308.

Thrush, Wood (_Hylocichla mustelina_), Audubon's early drawing
of, i, 180.

Title pages, in facsimile, _The Birds of America_, original
folio, i, 381;
prospectus of _The Birds of America_, i, 391;
of covers of parts, of octavo (second) edition of the
_Birds_, ii, 213;
of English edition (Vol. I) of _The Viviparous Quadrupeds
of North America_, i, 275.

Titmouse, Mountain, Audubon's early drawing of, i, 181.

Torrey, John, i, 171.

Townsend, Dr. John Kirk, ii, 147, 149, 153-154, 156, 170-173,
179.

Traill, Dr. Thomas S., i, 353.

Transportation by steam, in the Atlantic, i, 2;
on the Ohio River, i, 236.

Transylvania Company, i, 252.

Transylvania University, i, 294-296, 306.

Treat, Mary, ii, 81.

Trinity Cemetery, i, 13.

Trudeau, James, ii, 184, 185, 186.

Turkey, Wild (_Meleagris gallopavo_), i, 311, 355, 358, 363;
ii, 198.

"Twizel House," i, 374.

Tyler, John, Audubon's credentials from, ii, 242.

Tyttenhanger (or Tittenhanger), Green, i, 403.

Valentine, Edward Virginius, i, 14.

Valley Forge (Pennsylvania), i, 102.

Van Buren, Martin, ii, 153, 166.

Vanderlyn, John, i, 312, 338.

Vaux, James, i, 108.

Vendée, La, i, 24-27.

Vendeans, characteristics and revolt of, i, 26;
Nantes besieged by, i, 74;
defeat and fate of, i, 75;
execution of leader of, i, 76-77, 80.

Vigors, Nathaniel Augustus, i, 377;
to Audubon, i, 407-408, 415; ii, 101, 107.

_Vireo belli_ (_V. bellii_, of Audubon, 1844), Bell's Vireo,
ii, 253.

Vireo, Warbling (_Vireosylva gilva_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 425.

Vireo, Yellow-throated (_Lanivireo flavifrons_), Audubon's
original drawing of, i, 316.

Vulture, Turkey (_Cathartes aura_), and Black, or "Carrion
Crow" (_Catharista urubu_), controversy over the sense of
smell in, ii, 81-84;
experiments of Audubon and Bachman on, ii, 55-56, 61, 81-82;
memorial of the faculty of the South Carolina Medical College
on, ii, 83;
present condition of the question, ii, 83.

Wade, Joseph M., i, 213, 254.

Wagtail, White (_Motacilla alba_), Audubon's early drawing of,
i, 181.

Wainwright, Rev. Dr., Edward Everett to, i, 436.

Waller, Sir J. Walter, to Audubon, i, 392, 406.

Walton, Isaac, i, 206.

Warbler (_Sylvia trochilus delicata_, _sylvia delicata_),
Audubon's unpublished drawing of, i, 228.

Warbler, Bay-breasted (_Dendroica castanea_), "Autumnal
Warbler," Audubon's original drawing of, i, 426.

Warbler, Blackburnian (_Dendroica fusca_), "Hemlock Warbler,"
Audubon's original drawing of, i, 180, 426.

Warbler, Black-poll (_Dendroica striata_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 425; ii, 50.

Warbler, Black-throated Blue (_Dendroica cærulescens_), "Pine
Swamp Warbler," Audubon's original drawing of, i, 425.

Warbler, Canada (_Wilsonia canadensis_), "Canada Flycatcher,"
Audubon's original drawing of, i, 425.

Warbler, Carbonated (_Dendroica carbonata_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 180.

Warbler, Chestnut-sided (_Dendroica pennsylvanica_), Audubon's
original drawing of, i, 180.

Warbler, "Children's," Yellow Warbler (_Dendroica æstiva_),
i, 354.

Warbler, Connecticut (_Oporornis agilis_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 426.

Warbler, Magnolia (_Dendroica magnolia_), "Black and Yellow
Warbler," Audubon's original drawing of, i, 425.

Warbler, Pine-creeping (_Dendroica vigorsi_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 316.

Warbler, Prairie (_Dendroica discolor_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 316.

Warbler, "Rathbone," i, 180, 354.

Warbler, Tennessee (_Vermivora peregrina_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 316.

Warbler, Yellow-rumped, Myrtle Warbler (_Dendroica coronata_),
Audubon's original drawing of, i, 180.

Ward, Henry, ii, 2, 4, 9, 12, 25, 32, 59.

Washington, General George, at Valley Forge, i, 102;
Folk's portrait of, i, 106;
at "Fatland Ford," i, 108.

Water-lily, yellow (_Nymphæa lutea_), ii, 80.

Waterton, Charles, i, 12, 224-232, 415; ii, 55, 61, 73;
on Audubon's drawing of the rattlesnake, ii, 79;
on the vulture's olfactory sense, ii, 82;
to George Ord, ii, 83;
his _Wanderings_, polemics and life at Walton Hall, ii, 86-92;
on Alexander Wilson's diary, ii, 87;
on the _Ornithological Biography_, ii, 87;
on the young Cuckoo and Hummingbird's nest, ii, 90-91; 142.

_Watty and Meg_, i, 208.

Webster, Daniel, as Audubon's patron, ii, 151;
his letter of recommendation and promise of ducks, ii, 152;
Audubon's credentials from, ii, 242.

_Wellington_, ii, 189, 191.

Wernerian Society, i, 183; ii, 72.

Westermann, General, to Citizen Audubon, i, 80.

_Western Journal_, ii, 298.

Western Museum, Audubon as its taxidermist, and story of its
foundation, i, 303-306.

Wetherill, Samuel, Junior, i, 102, 169; ii, 14.

Wetherill, Samuel Price, i, 102.

Wetherill, Dr. William, i, 201.

Wetherill, W. H., i, 99, 102, 149.

Wheelock, John, i, 218.

Whewell, William, i, 399.

Whip-poor-will (_Antrostomus vociferus_), Audubon's early
drawings of, i, 180, 249.

Whitehall (New York), ii, 244.

White-throated Sparrow (_Zonotrichia albicollis_), Audubon's
early drawing of, i, 249.

Wilkie, David, i, 377.

Williams, George Alfred, on the ancestry and achievements of
Robert Havell, Junior, i, 382; ii, 193-195.

Wilson, Alexander, i, 107;
his life and accomplishments, i, 202-220;
his journey of 1810, i, 202;
his rebuke to a judge, i, 203;
description of Pittsburgh, i, 204;
descends the Ohio, i, 205;
impressions of Cincinnati and Louisville, i, 205;
success in New Orleans, i, 207;
his meeting with Audubon, i, 207;
early life and struggles, i, 208;
success as a dialect poet, i, 208;
champions the oppressed weavers, is fined and sent to jail,
i, 208;
emigrates to America, i, 209;
unfortunate love affairs, i, 209, 212, 215, 216;
to Charles Orr, i, 210-212;
George Ord on, i, 211;
friendship with Bartram and Lawson, i, 212;
his poverty and thrift, i, 214-216;
his talents and genius, i, 214;
_The Foresters_, i, 216;
his _American Ornithology_ begun, i, 216;
his prospectus and first volume, i, 217;
canvasses New England, i, 218;
journey South and extension of his work, i, 218;
second New England tour, and his arrest as a spy, i, 219;
completion of his seventh volume and his premature death,
i, 219;
his character, i, 219;
Audubon's account of their meeting in Louisville, i, 220-223;
Ord's revival of the incident, i, 223;
his diary in light of later events, i, 224-232;
his evasive flycatcher, i, 226;
the "twin" Mississippi Kites, i, 227-230;
as a later "rival" of Audubon, i, 231-232, 234-235, 311, 422;
mistaken obituary of, ii, 2;
Audubon on, ii, 143;
number of species of American birds recognized, ii, 214;
and Bachman, ii, 284.

Wilson, James, i, 438.

Wilson, John, i, 362, 385, 447; ii, 84;
Audubon to, ii, 139.

Winterfield, Charles, ii, 121, 256-258;
on Audubon at the ruins of a fire, ii, 267.

Wollaston, Dr. William Hyde, i, 377.

Wood, Rev. J. G., on Waterton, ii, 89.

Woodbury, Levi, ii, 5;
to Louis McLane, ii, 23.

Woodpecker, Green, Audubon's early drawing of, i, 178, 181.

Woodpecker, Red-cockaded (_Dryobates borealis_), Audubon's
early drawing of, i, 316.

Wren, "Cuvier's." _See_ "_Regulus_."

Wren, Bewick's (_Thryomanes bewicki_), Audubon's original
drawing of, i, 180.

Wren, Marsh (_Telmatodytes palustris_), original drawing of,
i, 425.

Wren, Parkman's (_Troglodytes aëdon parkmani_), original
specimen, ii, 227.

Yarrell, William, ii, 58;
to Audubon, ii, 223-225, 246-247.

Yellow-throat, "Roscoe's," Maryland Yellow-throat (_Geothlypis
trichas_), i, 354.

Yorktown (Virginia), Jean Audubon's command at, i, 24.

Zoölogical Gallery, i, 12, 382, 394.

Zoölogical Society (London), i, 398, 444.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Quoted by Captain Thomas Brown (Bibl. No. 163) in
the Edinburgh _Caledonian Mercury_, November 3, 1831.

[2] Extract of letter of Colonel Abert. See G. W.
Featherstonhaugh (Bibl. No. 164), _Monthly American
Journal of Geology and Natural Science_, vol. i, p. 229
(1831).

John James Abert (1788-1863), long associated with the
Bureau of Topographical Engineers of the United States
Army, became brevet lieutenant-colonel in charge of
that office in 1837; according to Ruthven Deane (see
Bibliography, No. 216), he was an organizer of the
National Institute of Science, afterwards merged with
the Smithsonian Institution at Washington; an ardent
friend of Audubon, he assisted him in many ways, and,
as Dr. Richard Harlan affirmed, paid dearly for his
support by being rejected for membership in the American
Philosophical Society at Philadelphia. Harlan wrote to
Audubon on January 27, 1832, that out of twenty-five
members present on the occasion referred to, five,
led by Mr. George Ord, Mr. Isaac Lea, and Dr. Hays,
had voted against him: in his opinion no possible
grounds could be found for opposing so desirable a
member excepting his friendship for Audubon and his
support of the snake "Episode" (see Chapter XXVIII).
In 1832 Abert's paper on the "Habits of Climbing of
the Rattlesnake," which was written in the previous
year, had appeared in a Philadelphia journal (see
Bibliography, No. 107). To this friend Abert's Squirrel,
_Sciurus aberti_, was later dedicated; see Audubon, _The
Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America_ (Bibl. No. 6),
plate 153.

[3] C. L. Bachman, _John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D._
(Bibl. No. 191), to which work I am indebted for
numerous extracts from Bachman's letters to Audubon and
for various incidents relating to the different members
of both families.

[4] This "Great Volume," bound in fine Russia leather,
was still in possession of the Bachman family in 1888,
and is said to represent one of the earliest impressions
of the plates, which Audubon had selected and used for
exhibition purposes. See C. L. Bachman, _op. cit._, p.
101.

[5] This unique copy of _The Birds of America_ bears the
inscription:

To my worthy Friend
D d. Eckley, Esq., of [Boston]
this volume is given with his sincere and good wishes.

JOHN J. AUDUBON.

The plates thus dedicated were unbound, and apparently
in their original covers, which consisted of plain
brown sheets. They passed through the hands of Messrs.
Burrows Brothers' Company, Cleveland, to Mr. Robert
H. Sayre of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and were
originally received by the American dealers from the
Messrs. Sotheran & Company of London. Possibly this was
the set mentioned by Coues, who says "Trübner ... quotes
the work with plain plates. I have never seen one in
that condition" (_Birds of the Colorado Valley_, p. 612;
Bibl. No. 181). After Mr. Sayre's death, his library was
dispersed by public auction at Philadelphia, when this
complete set of Audubon plates, though in an uncolored
state, brought $3,200; see _Public Ledger_, November 9,
1907, and "Bohemian" (Bibl. No. 207a), _Black Diamond
Express_, vol. iv, p. 3.

[6] Letter (No. 1) from Audubon to the editor of
the _Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural
Science_ (Bibl. No. 34), published in vol. i, p. 358
(1832); dated "St. Augustine, East Florida, Dec. 7,
1831." These letters, which were hurriedly written
in the field, appeared in a short-lived and forgotten
publication; they are here given in part on account of
the general interest of the narrative.

[7] See Audubon's New Year's resolution against snuff,
Vol. I., p. 396.

[8] See Vol. I, p. 400.

[9] Thomas Butler King, of St. Simon's Island, Georgia.

[10] Then belonging to the four sons of Samuel
Wetherill, who succeeded to the white lead and drugs
industry after his death in 1829.

[11] For the favor of reproducing this and another
letter by Dr. Harlan given in Chapter XXVII, as well as
the sonnet referred to, which will be found facing page
1 of this volume, I am indebted to Mr. Ruthven Deane.

[12] The following account is quoted from Audubon's
second letter to G. W. Featherstonhaugh (Bibl. No. 35),
dated "Bulowville, East Florida, December 31, 1831;"
published, _loc. cit._, vol. i, p. 407 (1832).

[13] See Vol. II, p. 129.

[14] See following Note; and "Spring Garden,"
_Ornithological Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol. ii, p.
263.

[15] See Bibliography, No. 36; undated; published, _loc.
cit._, vol. i, p. 529 (1832).

[16] See "St. John's River in Florida," _Ornithological
Biography_, vol. ii, p. 291.

[17] See "The Florida Keys," _Ornithological Biography_,
vol. i, pp. 312 and 345, and "The Turtlers," _ibid._,
vol. ii, p. 370.

[18] See Vol. II, p. 7.

[19] See "A Merchant of Savannah," _Ornithological
Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol. ii, p. 549.

[20] It was possibly during his visit to this city that
an experiment was made in bringing out some of his
plates by lithography. Two copies of a large plate,
possibly the only one produced, lithographed without
colors, were shown to me by Mr. Goodspeed, of Boston,
in the summer of 1910; these represented the "Rallus
crepitans—Marsh Hen," and bore the following legends:
"By John J. Audubon, F.R.S., &c., &c.," and "Drawn
& Printed by Childs & Inman, Philadelphia, 1832."
Three birds are here figured in place of the two which
appear in the plate of this species which Havell later
engraved, and in composition the two publications are
quite distinct.

[21] In a letter written to Audubon by his engraver,
January 20, 1831, Havell said: "Since writing my last,
I have a new subscriber from America, the Honble. T. H.
Perkins, Boston Athenæum. I packed it in a tin case, and
a wooden one; for the whole I am paid thro. the banking
house of the Baring Brothers, & Co., Bishopsgate St."

The copy of _The Birds of America_ in possession of the
Boston Society of Natural History bears the following
in autographic inscription on the fly-leaf of the first
volume:

Cost $1125—

T. H. PERKINS
1837.

[22] See Vol. II, p. 43.

[23] See "Journey in New Brunswick and Maine,"
_Ornithological Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol. ii, p.
467.

[24] C. L. Bachman, _John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D._
(Bibl. No. 191).

[25] For notice of Robert Havell, Senior, who died in
1832, see Vol. I, p. 382.

[26] Originally published by Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No.
48), _The Auk_, vol. xxii, 1905.

[27] Alexander Gordon, who married Ann Bakewell,
youngest sister of Mrs. Audubon. For notice of Jos. B.
Kidd, mentioned below, see Vol. I, p. 446.

[28] Originally published by George Bird Grinnell (Bibl.
No. 54), _The Auk_, vol. xxxiii, 1916.

[29] See Chapter XXIX, p. 118, and the letter which
Audubon wrote to Bonaparte at this time.

[30] Most readers will doubtless recall that Dr.
George Parkman was the victim of an almost unbelievable
tragedy in 1849, when he met his death at the hands of
a colleague; the entire country was then aroused as it
seldom had been by an event in the annals of crime.

[31] In 1897 Mr. Joseph Coolidge, who was then living in
San Francisco, was the sole survivor of this expedition;
see Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_ (Bibl.
No. 86), vol. i, p. 347.

[32] Dr. George Cheyne Shattuck, like his father
a philanthropist, and an ardent patron of all good
works, in 1855 planted a seed on the rocky soil of New
Hampshire which has since shown a marvelous vitality;
to him primarily, and to the revered schoolmasters,
the Reverend Dr. Henry Augustus Coit and the Reverend
Dr. Joseph Rowland Coit, the world owes that great
foundation, St. Paul's School.

[33] Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._, vol. i, p. 346.

[34] See "The Eggers of Labrador," _Ornithological
Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol. iii, p. 82.

[35] Lincoln's Finch, _Fringella lincolnii_, now
_Melospiza lincolni_.

[36] See Charles W. Townsend (Bibl. No. 234), _The Auk_,
vol. xxxiv, p. 133 (1917).

[37] Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._, vol. i, p. 386.

[38] _Ibid._, p. 390.

[39] _Ibid._, p. 425.

[40] As a memento of the Labrador experience, Audubon
presented Harris with his pocket companion, _The Genera
of North American Birds and a Synopsis of the Species_,
by Charles Lucien Bonaparte (New York, 1828), and
inscribed it as presented to his friend at "Eastport,
Sept. 1, 1833." This volume, which saw much hard usage
on this voyage and is filled with Audubon's manuscript
notes, is now in possession of Mr. Joseph Y. Jeanes.

[41] For Tuesday, September 10, 1833.

[42] Lucy Audubon, ed., _Life of John James Audubon, the
Naturalist_ (Bibl. No. 73), p. 377.

[43] _Ibid._, p. 379.

[44] See Chapter XXVIII, p. 78.

[45] See _ibid._, p. 81.

[46] Which I am able to reproduce through the kindness
of Miss Maria R. Audubon.

[47] The reference is to Victor G. Audubon's second
article in defense of his father, which appeared
in _Loudon's Magazine of Natural History_ (see
Bibliography, No. 118). Swainson's paper, under the same
title (see Bibliography, No. 117), was published in the
same number.

[48] For an account of this discussion see Chapter
XXVIII, where the memorial drawn up and signed by the
faculty of the Medical College of South Carolina is
reproduced.

[49] When in New York, awaiting the sailing of his
vessel, in April, 1834, Audubon referred to Bachman's
paper on the Turkey Buzzard in writing to Miss Maria
Martin, as follows: "At Phila., Mr. Lee and Docr. Hays
managed to have it not read at Philosoph. Socy, but
the Lyceum of New York, after reading it, have sent
it to Professor Silliman, in whose Journal it will
appear. John Bachman may consider himself a member of
the Lyceum of New York, and 'mayhap,' a fellow of the
Linnean Society of London." Bachman's paper was actually
published in the _Journal of the Boston Society of
Natural History_ for 1834; see Bibliography, No. 125.

[50] This paper, entitled "Remarks in Defense of [Mr.
Audubon] the author of the Birds of America," was
published in volume vii of _Loudon's Magazine of Natural
History_ for 1834, and is dated "Charleston, Dec. 31,
1833"; see Bibliography, No. 124.

[51] See Note, Vol. I., p. 426.

[52] See Vol. I, p. 260.

[53] See Audubon's statement of the case, given in Note,
Vol. I, p. 260.

[54] See Bibliography, Nos. 17-21.

[55] For this privilege I am indebted to Miss Maria R.
Audubon.

[56] See Bibliography, No. 21.

[57] At one time superintendent of the Patent Office at
Washington, and professor in the medical department of
Columbia College; he was later professor of mathematics
in the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia and editor of
the _Franklin Journal and American Mechanics' Magazine_.

[58] See Bibliography, No. 115.

[59] See Bibliography, No. 93.

[60] This episode was referred to in Chapter XX, p. 316.

[61] This was very clearly pointed out in 1908 in an
excellent article by Mr. George W. Colles, entitled
"A Defence of Audubon" (Bibl. No. 160), in _Scientific
American_, vol. xcviii, p. 311.

[62] See Plate lii, of the Chuck-will's-widow.

[63] See Vol. II, p. 3; and Bibliography, No. 107.

[64] An English geologist, who made a survey of the
bituminous coal-deposits of the Alleghany mountains in
1834. See Bibliography, No. 129.

[65] _Ornithological Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol. iv,
p. xviii.

[66] See Thomas M. Brewer, (Bibl. No. 79), _Harper's New
Monthly Magazine_, vol. lxi, p. 666 (1880).

[67] This specimen, which was presented to me by the
late Dr. X. C. Scott of Cleveland, measured 6 feet, and
showed eight rattles and a button; the skin and skeleton
are preserved in the Biological Laboratory of Western
Reserve University.

[68] See Vol. II, p. 55.

[69] Bachman's account of these experiments is
interesting: "A coarse painting," he said, was made on
canvas, "representing a sheep skinned and cut open. This
proved very amusing—no sooner was this picture placed
on the ground than the Vultures observed it, alighted
near, walked over it, and some of them commenced tugging
at the painting. They seemed much disappointed and
surprised, and after having satisfied their curiosity,
flew away. This experiment was repeated more than fifty
times, with the same result. The painting was then
placed within two feet of the place where the offal
was deposited—they came as usual, walked around it, but
in no instance evinced the slightest symptoms of their
having scented the offal which was so near them.

"The most offensive portions of the offal were now
placed on the earth; these were covered over by a
canvass cloth—on this were strewn several pieces of
fresh beef. The Vultures came, ate the flesh that was
in sight, and although they were standing on a quantity
beneath them, and although their bills were frequently
within the eighth of an inch of the putrid matter,
they did not discover it. We made a small rent in the
canvass, and they at once discovered the flesh and began
to devour it. We drove them away, replaced the canvass
with a piece that was entire; again they commenced
eating the flesh exhibited to their view, without
discovering the hidden food they were trampling upon.

"As it [the organ of smell] does however exist,
(although in an inferior degree,) I am not disposed
to deny to birds the power of smell altogether, nor
would I wish to advance the opinion that the Vulture
does not possess the power of smelling in the slightest
degree, (although it has not been discovered by our
experiments). All that I contend for is, that he is not
assisted by this faculty in procuring his food—that he
cannot smell better for instance, than Hawks or Owls,
who it is known are indebted altogether to their sight,
in discovering their prey."

[70] See Bibliography, No. 104, and Vol. II, p. 55; also
_Ornithological Biography_, vol. ii, p. 46.

[71] See Bibliography, No. 125, and for the quotation to
follow, Samuel N. Rhoads, "George Ord," _Cassinia_, No.
xii (Philadelphia, 1908).

[72] See W. Sells (Bibl. No. 140), _Proceedings of the
Zoölogical Society of London_, pt. v, p. 33 (1837).

[73] See Vol. II, pp. 4 and 23, and Bibliography, No.
106.

[74] See Bibliography, No. 136.

[75] See Bibliography, No. 105.

[76] See Bibliography, No. 106.

[77] See Bibliography, No. 35.

[78] See Bibliography, No. 104 _et seq._

[79] See Vol. I, p. 224.

[80] "I myself, with mine own eyes, have seen Wilson's
original diary, written by him at Louisville, and I
have just now on the table before me the account of the
Academy of Sciences indignantly rejecting Mr. Audubon
as a member, on that diary having been produced to their
view." See Bibliography, No. 119.

[81] See Bibliography, No. 119.

[82] See Bibliography, No. 115.

[83] See Bibliography, No. 117.

[84] See Bibliography, No. 114.

[85] _Wanderings in South America, the North-West of
the United States, and the Antilles, in the years 1812,
1816, 1820, & 1824._ Originally in 4to., London, 1825.

[86] See "Nests and Nest-Building in Birds," Pt. 2,
_Journal of Animal Behavior_, vol. i (1911).

[87] See Bibliography, No. 138.

[88] See Chapter XXIII.

[89] Swainson expounded the Quinarian or Circular
System in the _Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the zoölogy
of the northern parts of British America_, published
in collaboration with John Richardson, and the first
zoölogical publication issued by the British Government;
but _A Treatise on the Geography and Classification of
Animals_ contained his most authoritative thesis upon
this grotesque concept.

[90] See Vol. I, p. 403.

[91] For the history of the Audubon-Swainson
correspondence, see Note, Vol. I, p. 400. Swainson's
letter which follows was first published by Ruthven
Deane (Bibl. No. 218), _The Auk_, vol. xxii, p. 248
(1905).

[92] Reproduced in Vol. I, p. 430.

[93] Possibly Henry Ward, who came to America with
Audubon in 1831 as his assistant and taxidermist (see
Vol. II, p. 2); a Frederick Ward is also mentioned in
Audubon's letters.

[94] Isaac Lea, naturalist and Philadelphia publisher;
Mr. Lea was a member of the firm of Messrs. Carey &
Lea, at one time the principal proprietors of Wilson's
_American Ornithology_, and it was thought that the
prejudice which he manifested towards Audubon and his
friends was traceable to his desire to maintain the
sales of that work. His attitude was compared with that
of Judge Hall, whose brother, Harrison, was also an
interested publisher. See Vol. I, pp. 223 and 281.

[95] From the Howland MSS.

[96] First published by Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 217),
_The Auk_, vol. xxii, p. 31 (1905).

[97] William John Burchell (1782?-1863), an
indefatigable collector and explorer, especially in
Africa and Brazil; the zebra, _Equus burchelli_, and
many animals and plants which he discovered have been
dedicated to him.

[98] Referring to the _Fauna-Boreali Americana_, the
second part of which, on "Birds," published in 1831, was
by Swainson; see Vol. I, p. 410.

[99] First published by Elliott Coues (Bibl. No. 203),
_The Auk_, vol. xv, p. 11 (1898); reproduced by Theodore
Gill (Bibl. No. 205), _The Osprey_, vol. v, p. 23
(1900).

[100] See Note, Vol. II, p. 105.

[101] But three other letters of Audubon to Swainson,
after this date, are noted by Albert Günther (Bibl.
No. 204) in the _Proceedings of the Linnæan Society_,
112th session (1900): one of "6 June, 1831," announces
Audubon's prospective return to America in August
of that year; another, dated "6 Dec. 1837," asks for
the loan of some bird skins; and the last of "11 Jan.
1838," is reproduced in Chapter XXXII. Swainson is said
to have been negotiating at this time with Charles L.
Bonaparte in reference to a joint compilation for a
work on the birds of the world; Bonaparte estimated
that there were then between 7,000 and 8,000 known
species to be characterized, but Swainson's terms were
not satisfactory, and nothing came of the project. To
the above list should be added the letter, evidently
misdated, of "April 28th. 1831," soon to follow.

[102] See Vol. I, p. 438.

[103] See Vol. II, p. 88.

[104] _Ornithological Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol. i,
p. xvii.

[105] Signed "Ornithophilus" (see Bibliography, No. 97),
and attributed by Coues (see Bibliography, No. 181),
with a question mark, to Swainson, but the internal
evidence shows conclusively that he was not its author.
The writer of this article said that it was not enough
to state that Audubon "has invented a new style in
the representation of natural objects; for so true are
his pictures, that he who has once seen and examined
them, can never again look with pleasure on the finest
productions of other artists. To paint like Audubon,
will henceforth mean to represent Nature as she is....
To relieve, as Mr. Audubon says, the tedium of those who
may have imposed upon themselves the task of following
an author through the mazes of descriptive ornithology,
he has interspersed descriptions of American scenery
and manners, gloomy forests, tangled cane-brakes,
dismal swamps, majestic rivers, floods, tornadoes,
and earthquakes; the migration of the white man, the
retreat of the red; the character and pursuits of the
backwoodsman.... Much, therefore, is it to be wished
that Mr. Audubon would undertake the delineation of
the birds of Great Britain, which, with his matchless
talents, aided by those of Mr. Havell, would eclipse,
not only all other representations of these birds, but
even the 'Birds of America,' unrivalled as that work now
is."

[106] See _Ornithological Biography_, vol. v, p. 194;
and Theodore Gill (Bibl. No. 206), _The Osprey_, vol. iv
and v. It seems that Dr. James Trudeau, out of ignorance
or disregard for Swainson's designation, later named a
woodpecker, obtained near New Orleans in 1837, _Picus
auduboni_, and by a strange coincidence, as Dr. Gill
has noticed, the same name was given by two different
naturalists to the same bird, now regarded as a variety
and known as _Dryobates villosus auduboni_.

[107] The _Cabinet Cyclopædia_ was published by Messrs.
Longman, Orme & Company, and edited by Rev. Dionysius
Lardner. Swainson wrote eleven of the twelve volumes
devoted to natural history. The volume to which
we refer is entitled _Taxidermy, Bibliography, and
Biography_, by William Swainson, A. C. G. [Assistant
Commissary-General], F. R. S. & L. S., Hon. F. C.
P. S. etc., and of several foreign societies (see
Bibliography, No. 169). The _Literary Gazette_ for
August 8, 1840, in noticing this work, said: "Perhaps
the amusing and frequent illustration of his character
is to be found in the autobiographical sketch of
himself, which he has not only included in this portion
of his volume, but induced his publishers to forward on
a separate sheet with the subjoined note:

"'Messrs. Longman, Orme, & Co., will feel particularly
obliged if the Editor of the ... will permit the above
Autobiography to appear in his columns at the first
suitable opportunity.'

"'39 Paternoster Row, July 29, 1840.'"

Quoted by Theodore Gill (Bibl. No. 206), _The Osprey_,
vol. iv, p. 105 (1900).

[108] Theodore Gill, _loc. cit._

[109] Albert Günther, _loc. cit._

[110] For notice of Bonaparte see Note, Vol. I, p. 329.

[111] See Vol. II, p. 40.

[112] See Vol. II, p. 184.

[113] This manuscript list is preserved with the
original drawings of _The Birds of America_, in
possession of the Historical Society of New York, where
I was permitted to examine it. It bears the following
attests of both naturalists in autograph:

"The above list of the Birds of America
was made at London on the 15th. of
December, 1837, when it was supposed to
contain all the known species.

"JOHN J. AUDUBON,
of Louisiana."

"The above list of North American Birds
was drawn up by myself to please Mr. J.
J. Audubon.

"LONDON, 15 December, 1837.
"CHARLES L. BONAPARTE.

"The total number of good species, 460," has been added
in pencil.

[114] _Comparative List of the Birds of Europe and North
America_, London, 1838.

[115] See Note, Vol. II, p. 122.

[116] _A Monograph of the Trochilidæ, or Family of
the Humming-Birds_; 5 vols., fol., with Supplement by
Bowlder Sharpe, London, 1861.

[117] Charles Winterfield, see Bibliography, No. 148.

[118] From letter written at 73 Margaret Street,
Cavendish Square, and sealed with turkey-cock seal.
(Jeanes MSS.)

[119] First published by Elliott Coues (Bibl. No. 43) in
the _Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club_, vol.
v (1880).

[120] For this and extracts in the two following
paragraphs, see Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 209), _The
Auk_, vol. xviii (1901).

[121] See Vol. II, p. 264.

[122] See Vol. I, p. 16.

[123] See Vol. II, p. 135.

[124] This, and the letter of MacGillivray soon to
follow, are from the Howland MSS.

[125] _The Rapacious Birds of Great Britain_, by William
MacGillivray, was dedicated to Audubon "in admiration
of his talents as an ornithologist, and in gratitude for
many acts of friendship."

[126] For an excellent account of the life of William
MacGillivray and of his labors in natural science, see
William MacGillivray, _A Memorial Tribute to William
MacGillivray_ (Bibl. No. 211).

[127] See Mrs. Gordon, _"Christopher North:" A Memoir of
John Wilson_ (Bibl. No. 44).

[128] This and extracts from letters which follow are
from the Jeanes MSS.

[129] See Bibliography, No. 2.

[130] For letter written to Dr. Phillips in 1842, see
Vol. II, p. 244.

[131] Lucy B. Audubon, ed., _Life of John James Audubon,
the Naturalist_ (Bibl. No. 73), p. 385.

[132] The Jeanes MSS.

[133] C. L. Bachman, _John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D._
(Bibl. No. 191).

[134] See Note, Vol. II, p. 7.

[135] Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), a native of Yorkshire,
was brought up a printer; in 1807 he emigrated to the
United States, and became noted for his wide botanical
explorations, for his _Journal of Travels in the
Arkansas Territory in 1819_, and for his excellent
_Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and
Canada_ (1833-1834), which has had several editions.
From 1822 to 1834 he was professor of Natural History
and curator of the Botanical Gardens at Harvard
University; in 1834 he crossed the Rocky Mountains
along the sources of the Platte, explored Oregon and
Upper California, and visited the Sandwich Islands. He
returned to England, where he had inherited property, in
1842, and died at St. Helen's, Lancashire, September 10,
1859.

[136] See Lucy B. Audubon, ed., _op. cit._; and Note,
Vol. II, p. 29.

[137] See Lucy B. Audubon, ed., _op. cit._, p. 391.

[138] In a letter signed "I. P. Davis," and superscribed
to "John J. Audubon Esqr at Mr. Berthoud's, 106 Broad
Street New York." (Rowland MSS.)

[139] See Thomas M. Brewer (Bibl. No. 79), _Harper's New
Monthly Magazine_, vol. lxi, p. 666 (1880).

[140] _Ornithological Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol.
iv, p. xi.

[141] Lucy B. Audubon, ed., _op. cit._, p. 398.

[142] Printed in the _Edinburgh Journal of Natural
History_ ( Bibl. No. 37), vol. i, p. 17 (December,
1838).

[143] See Lucy B. Audubon, ed., _op. cit._, p. 411.

[144] Thomas M. Brewer (Bibl. No. 79), _loc. cit._

[145] For this and the quotations in the following
paragraph, see Thomas M. Brewer (Bibl. No. 79),
_Harper's New Monthly Magazine_, vol. lxi, p. 666
(1880).

[146] See Vol. II, p. 149.

[147] See S. N. Rhoads (Bibl. No. 46), _The Auk_, vol.
xx, p. 377 (1903).

[148] From MS. in the Public Library, New York.

[149] The Linnæan Society's MSS. See Chapter XXIII, Note
354.

[150] First published by R. W. Shufeldt (Bibl. No. 45),
in _The Auk_, xi (1894); see also Maria R. Audubon,
_Audubon and his Journals_ (Bibl. No. 86).

[151] See S. N. Rhoads (Bibl. No. 46), _loc. cit._

[152] See _ibid._

[153] See Vol. I, p. 241.

[154] _Voyage Autour du Monde, exécuté par ordre de sa
Majesté l'Empereur Nicholas ler, sur la Corvette Le
Séniavine, 1826-1829_. Par Fréderic Lutké, Capitaine
de vaisseau. Partie Historique, avec un atlas,
lithographié, d'après les dessins originaux d'Alexandrie
Postels et du Baron Kittlitz. Traduit du Russe sur
le manuscrit original, sur les yeux de l'auteur, par
Le Conseiller D'Etat F. Boyé. Text in 3 vols. 8vo.
Paris, 1835-36. The first two volumes are historical,
and the third, entitled "Travels of the Naturalists,"
is translated by Alexandre Postels. The expedition
traversed the Behring Sea, touched at some of the
Aleutian Islands, and then explored South America as far
as the coast of Chili.

[155] First published by Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 225),
in _The Auk_, vol. xxv (1908). Mr. Deane writes me that
he has a copy of a receipt from William MacGillivray
to Audubon for the final amount due him for work on
the technical parts of Volume V of the _Ornithological
Biography_; at the bottom of this paper Audubon made
a memorandum, under date of November 21, 1838, to
the effect that the total amount which he had paid
MacGillivray for his work upon this volume was £47-11-1.

[156] See Note 5, Vol. II, p. 7. Mr. John Hardin (see
Vol. II, p. 295) showed me an uncolored print of the
Hen Turkey which John W. Audubon had given him, and a
correspondent in New Orleans informs me that a relative
possesses a number in this condition, which were
received many years ago as a gift from Mrs. Audubon. Mr.
Charles E. Goodspeed, of Boston, was the recipient of
the Painted Bunting plates, noticed above.

[157] Henry Augustus Havell (1803-1840), painter,
engraver, and at one time assistant to his elder
brother, Robert Havell, Junior.

[158] George Alfred Williams (Bibl. No. 232),
_Print-Collectors Quarterly_, vol. vi, p. 225 (1916).

[159] _Loc. cit._

[160] In 1914 Dr. Samuel Henshaw showed me an impression
of this suppressed plate, and also a large printed
label, cut from a board backing, which bore within
an ornamental border the title "Audubon's Birds of
America—Engraved, printed, and colored by Lizars &c.
&c." This suggests that Lizars may have issued the first
two numbers, which he engraved, in portfolio.

[161] See Bibliography, No. 142.

[162] See Bibliography, No. 152.

[163] W. B. O. Peabody; see Bibliography, No. 143.

[164] See Samuel N. Rhoads (Bibl. No. 231) _The
Auk_, vol. xxxiii, p. 130 (1916); transcript of a
clipping which apparently had been taken from a New
York newspaper of January, 1838; the reading of the
American notice is the same, excepting the statement
that applications in this country should be made to "N.
Berthoud, Esq., New York; Dr. George Parkman, Boston;
Rev. Jno. Bachman, Charleston, S. C.; James Grimshaw,
Esq., New Orleans, or W. G. Bakewell, Esq., Louisville."
It is dated "New York, 11 Jan, 1838."

[165] Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_
(Bibl. No. 86), vol. i, p. 71.

[166] See Rhoads (Bibl. No. 231), _loc. cit._

[167] Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 225), _The Auk_, vol.
xxv, p. 401 (1908).

[168] Eight in number, the aggregate cost of which
was then $1,624: _The Birds of America_, with its
letterpress, was offered at $1,000; library, or octavo
edition, with reduced plates, in 100 Parts, at $100;
_The Quadrupeds of North America_, 2 vols., folio, with
3 vols. text, in 8vo., $300; text of the same, according
to binding, from $31 (paper) to $40 (full Turkey mor.);
_Birds and Quadrupeds_, library ed., 10 vols., 650
plates, $150 to $160, according to style; _Synopsis
of Birds of America_, $4; _The Viviparous Quadrupeds
of North America_, 3 vols., text only, $9. See Mrs.
Horace St. John, _Life of Audubon_ (Bibl. No. 71), in
advertisement inserted in volume. These prices were
similar to those that prevailed during the lifetime of
the naturalist.

According to Mr. Ruthven Deane, Audubon's account books
show that on January 8, 1840, a box was sent to Dr.
George Parkman, of Boston, containing a set of _The
Birds of America_, in full binding, at $1,075; a set of
the same, half bound, at $950; and the "Biographies" at
$27.

The highest recorded price of _The Birds of America_ is
believed to be $4,350, which the Kemble set brought at
auction at Philadelphia, in 1906 (See _Prices Current_
for 1906); the highest price paid for a single plate,
that of the Turkey Cock (Plate No. 1) upwards of $140;
and the highest price asked for the octavo edition of
the Birds (in original parts), $750. _The Quadrupeds_ in
2 vols., original folio, now brings about $500.

[169] Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 225), _loc. cit._

[170] For a copy of this minute, the substance of which
was published in 1877 (See Bibliography, No. 179), I am
indebted to the present librarian, Mr. Kelby.

[171] Jonathan Prescott Hall (1796-1862), eminent lawyer
and jurist, was at one time district attorney for the
southern district of New York, and author of _Reports
of Cases in the Supreme Court of City of New York—
1828-29_ (2 vols., New York, 1831-33). Mr. Hall was a
subscriber to the octavo editions of Audubon's _Birds_
and _Quadrupeds_.

[172] According to Lucy B. Audubon, ed., _The Life of
John James Audubon_ (Bibl. No. 73), from which we have
drawn numerous extracts from his journals; see p. 381,
under date of May 12, 1834.

[173] See Thomas M. Brewer (Bibl. No. 79), _Harper's New
Monthly Magazine_, vol. lxi, p. 666 (1880).

[174] From last page of paper covers, in which parts of
the work were originally issued.

Below are the following notices:

"Persons desirous of subscribing to the above work are
respectfully requested to apply to _J. J. Audubon_, 86
White street, _Henderson Greene_, 377 Broadway, or _W.
A. Colman_, Broadway, New York; to _J. B. Chevalier_,
70 Dock street, or _Orrin Rogers_, 67 South Second
street, Philadelphia; _C. C. Little_ or _James Brown_,
Boston; _J. P. Beile_, or _Geo. Oates_, Charleston,
S. C.; _Gideon B. Smith_, Baltimore; _David Ridgely_,
Annapolis, Md.; _J. S. Kellogg & Co._, Mobile, Ala."

"S. H. Stevenson, Travelling Agent for Kentucky and
Virginia; and William A. Pierce for Pennsylvania."

This first octavo edition of Audubon's _Birds_
was issued by J. J. Audubon, and J. B. Chevalier,
Philadelphia, in 100 parts, of five plates each, to be
bound in 7 volumes, 1840-44. Complete sets in parts
are now very rare; previous to 1907 a set is said to
have been sold for $500; in 1914 one was offered in
Philadelphia for $750. The introduction to No 1, is
dated "New York, Nov. 1839," and the fifteenth number,
beginning volume ii, "N. Y., Aug., 1840." The first
five volumes (1840-42) were issued with the coöperation
of J. B. Chevalier, lithographer, 70 Dock Street,
Philadelphia, but, according to Mr. Ruthven Deane,
he was an agent who received a commission on sales,
and, for a time, a share in the profits, but not a
co-publisher with Audubon; it is also stated that when
misfortune visited Chevalier in later life, he was cared
for by Audubon or his sons, up to the time of his death.
For fuller details, see Bibliography, No. 4.

[175] Of these, according to Mr. Witmer Stone (see
Bibliography, No. 221), 474 are sanctioned in the
present "Check List" of the American Ornithologists'
Union; seventeen have proved to be identical with
others; ten are extra-limital; two are hybrids; and five
have never been found since; of Audubon's suppressed
species, two have been resuscitated. Audubon is thought
to have been personally acquainted with 385 American
species, others being known to him only through
specimens sent by collectors, or discovered in museums.

[176] First published by Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 48b),
_The Auk_, vol. xxv (1908).

[177] See "Original Account Book of J. J. Audubon"
(Bibl. No. 223), _The Nation_, vol. lxxxiv, from which
the following data regarding issues and sales of this
work are drawn. The total edition of the plates for
No. 2 was 1,345, and of No. 3, 1,339. No. 11 of the
plates was the first to run to 1,000 copies in the
first printing, and this issue was continued to No. 50,
inclusive, excepting Nos. 3, 28, 29, and 30, of which
1,500 seem to have been printed; the plates of these
numbers were done at the lithographic establishment
of Endicotts, New York, all others being the work of
J. T. Bowen, Philadelphia. When subscriptions began
to fall off with No. 51, the edition was reduced to
1,150, and again with No. 57, to 1,050, which remained
constant to No. 84, or as far as this record goes. Of
the text, printed by E. G. Dorsey, 1,200 copies formed
the first edition of No. 1, 1,000 copies that of No.
2, and of successive numbers to No. 23. With No. 24,
the edition was increased to 2,000, and in February,
1841, the earlier numbers were reprinted, thus forming
a second edition of these parts, and affording a chance
for correction of errors. (See Audubon's letter quoted
above.)

[178] See Ruthven Deane (Bibl. Nos. 47 and 49-51), _The
Auk_, vols. xxi, xxiii, and xxiv (1904-7), _Passim_; and
William H. Dall, _Spencer Fullerton Baird, a Biography_
(Bibl. No. 52) (1915); to these admirable accounts I am
indebted for such abstracts of this correspondence as
are here reproduced.

[179] See Vol. II, p. 169.

[180] See Note, Vol. II, p. 211.

[181] William Yarrell (1784-1856) was the author of _A
History of British Fishes_ (1835-36), and _A History of
British Birds_ (1839-43) in three volumes; the latter
has passed through several editions, the fourth and
best being by Alfred Newton in four volumes (1871-85).
For the favor of reproducing this letter, and another
by Yarrell given in Chapter XXXIV, I am indebted to Mr.
Ruthven Deane.

[182] See John E. Thayer (Bibl. No. 53), _The Auk_,
vol. xxxiii (1916). Mr. Thayer's Ornithological Museum
now contains the original specimen of Parkman's Wren,
to which Audubon refers; it is "mounted on a twig, in
a paper box with a glass front," and is "in excellent
condition."

[183] Baird wrote to Audubon, November 4, 1846: "Please
tell me the address of your friend Ayres. I have been
collecting fishes for some weeks, and wish to correspond
& exchange with him on this subject." A woodpecker,
_Colaptes ayresii_, was named after this friend by
Audubon, in _The Birds of America_, vol. vii, in 1843.

[184] Addressed to Messrs. Little & Brown, booksellers,
acknowledging the receipt of a check for $214.20.

[185] See Vol. I, p. 103.

[186] See Bibliography, No. 60.

[187] See Chapter XXXVI.

[188] Parke Godwin, _The Homes of American Authors_
(Bibl. No. 68) (1853).

[189] See Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 224), _The Auk_, vol.
xxv (1908).

[190] See C. L. Bachman, _John Bachman, D.D., LL.D.,
Ph.D_. (Bibl. No. 191), p. 199.

[191] See Vol. II, p. 144.

[192] See William H. Dall, _Spencer Fullerton Baird, a
Biography_ (Bibl. No. 52), pp. 88-91, for the complete
letters from which the preceding extracts have been
taken.

[193] See Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_
(Bibl. No. 86), vol. i, pp. 453-532, and vol. ii, pp.
1-196.

[194] Charles Winterfield (Bibl. No. 149), _The American
Review_, vol. i (1845); see also Charles W. Webber,
_Romance of Natural History_ (Bibl. No. 173) (1852).

[195] See Vol. II, p. 294.

[196] See Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._, vol. ii, Note on
pp. 175-6.

[197] At the close of the Civil War, Bachman wrote to a
friend: "I had been a snuff-taker for forty years and I
had tried _three times_ to wean myself from the vice. I
have done it effectually now...."

[198] Bibliographical Appendix to _Birds of the Colorado
Valley_ (Bibl. No. 181).

[199] See Bibliography, Nos. 5-7.

[200] See C. L. Bachman, _John Bachman, D.D., LL.D.,
Ph.D._ (Bibl. No. 191).

[201] See Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 51), _The Auk_, vol.
xxiv (1907). To Mr. Deane I am indebted for Audubon's
copy of a letter to John Bachman, soon to follow; this
was written on several blank sheets at the end of his
"Copy of my Journal from Fort Union homeward. Commencing
(Sunday) Aug. 16th (1843) at 12 o'clock, the moment of
our departure."

[202] _The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America_
(Bibl. No. 6), vol. i, p. 312 (London, 1847).

[203] William H. Dall, _Spencer Fullerton Baird, a
Biography_ (Bibl. No. 52), p. 121.

[204] Charles Winterfield (Bibl. No. 150), _The American
Review_, vol. ii (1845).

[205] William H. Dall, _op. cit._, p. 124.

[206] Jeanes MSS. See Note, Vol. I, p. 180.

[207] For "C," meaning Alexander Culbertson, a young
Englishman, famous rider and shot, then in charge of
Fort Union at the mouth of the Yellowstone. Audubon,
with the assistance of Sprague, painted his portrait
and that of his wife, a Blackfoot Indian princess, who
also was noted for her skill in horsemanship. "I lost
the head of my first [buffalo] bull head," said Audubon,
"because I forgot to tell Mrs. Culbertson that I wished
to save it, and the princess had its skull broken open
to enjoy its brains. Handsome, and really courteous and
refined in many ways, I cannot reconcile myself to the
fact that she partakes of raw animal food, with such
evident relish." (Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his
Journals_, vol. ii, p. 111).

For previous and following extracts, see C. L. Bachman,
_op. cit._, p. 208.

[208] See William H. Dall, _op. cit._, pp. 130-2.

[209] _Ibid._, p. 126.

[210] _Ibid._, p. 129.

[211] Mrs. Harriet Bachman died in July, 1846, and
almost immediately a daughter was stricken with a fatal
disease; "It seizes," said the father, "with a deadly
hold, weakens the cords of life; and only relinquishes
its fatal grasp, when life is extinct." (See C. L.
Bachman, _op. cit._)

[212] New York City furnished (for vol. i) 82
subscribers, who took 86 copies; Philadelphia, 33;
Boston, 27 (28 copies); and Baltimore, 15. In 1854
Victor Audubon obtained 129 subscribers for the second
edition (published with reduced plates) in three days.

[213] For this and the following extract, see Ruthven
Deane (Bibl. No. 51), _loc. cit._, p. 65.

[214] In the summer of 1846 Baird's nominal position in
Dickinson College had been changed to an active one by
his election to a professorship of chemistry and natural
history, and his marriage had followed in August. The
college had about one hundred students enrolled at that
time, and the grammar, or preparatory, school attached
to it, about half as many more. See Ruthven Deane (Bibl.
No. 51), _The Auk_, vol. xxiv, p. 65 (1907).

[215] For this and the two following letters, see
_ibid._, pp. 66-69.

[216] William H. Dall, _op. cit._, which see also for
preceding extract.

[217] See Vol. II, p. 275; and Bibliography, No. 6.

[218] This hastily written note, possibly a duplicate
of the one actually sent, was inserted in a copy of _The
Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America_ (vol. i, London,
1847) which I purchased in London, August, 1913, and
which bore this inscription, in autograph, on the title:

J. E. GRAY.
from J W. AUDUBON
with grateful Recolections
May 4, 1847.

[219] Her assistance to Audubon was recognized in
his dedication to her of "Maria's Woodpecker," _Picus
martinæ_ (see _Ornithological Biography_ vol. v, p.
181).

[220] See C. L. Bachman, _op. cit_., p. 270.

[221] Miss Eliza Mallory, who in 1874 was living in the
Victor Audubon house.

[222] See C. L. Bachman, _op. cit._, p. 391. John
Bachman died at Charleston, February 24, 1874.

[223] See Vol. II, p. 150.

[224] See Bibliography, No. 79.

[225] See Vol. II, p. 279.

[226] See Ruthven Deane, _loc. cit._, p. 70.

[227] See William H. Dall, _op. cit._, p. 155.

[228] For this and the following letter, see C. L.
Bachman, _op. cit._, p. 274.

[229] See C. L. Bachman, _John Bachman, D.D., LL.D.,
Ph.D._ (Bibl. No. 191), p. 276. The suggestion made
to Mr. Harris was adopted, which accounts for the six
colored plates inserted in the third volume of the
text; the "Large Work" referred to the folio plates with
accompanying text, the "Small," to the first composite
edition of both text and plates; see Bibliography, Nos.
5-7.

[230] See C. L. Bachman, _op. cit._, p. 278.

[231] John W. Audubon's children by Maria Bachman were:
(1) Lucy Audubon (Mrs. De Lancey Barclay Williams),
1838-1909; (2) Harriet Bachman Audubon, 1839- ; by
Caroline Hall, who died in 1899: (3) John James Audubon,
1842 (lived one day); (4) Maria Rebecca Audubon, 1843- ;
(5) John James Audubon, 1845-1893; (6) William Bakewell
Audubon, 1847- , who emigrated to Australia, where he
engaged in sheep-raising, and has two children, Leonard
Benjamin and Eleanor Caroline Audubon; Leonard Audubon,
who is twenty-nine, is now fighting for France in the
55th Battalion of the Australian contingent; as I have
been recently informed by his aunt, he has been almost
constantly on the fighting front since August, 1916,
and in the spring of 1917 he was promoted from the ranks
"on account of great bravery under unusual conditions;"
if still living, William Audubon and his son are the
sole male representatives of the American branch of
the Audubon family; (7) Jane Audubon, 1849-1853; (8)
Florence Audubon, 1853- ; (9) Benjamin Phillips Audubon,
1855-1886.

Victor G. Audubon had six children by his second wife,
Georgiana R. Mallory, who died in 1882; (1) Mary Eliza
Audubon, 1845- ; (2) Rose Audubon, 1846-1879; (3) Victor
Gifford Audubon, 1847-1915; (4) Delia Talman (Mrs.
Morris Frank Tyler), 1849- ; (5) Lucy Bakewell Audubon,
1851-1898; and (6) Anne Gordon Audubon, 1854-1907.

[232] See Vol. II, p. 267.

[233] Due, it was believed, to a fall into the "well"
(now guarded by an iron rail), which led to a basement
window of his house, though one who knew John W. Audubon
well, said that Victor's illness resulted from a fall
from a railroad train; see Jacob Pentz (Bibl. No. 81),
_Shooting and Fishing_, May 11, 1893.

[234] Maria R. Audubon, in biographical memoir of her
father in _Audubon's Western Journal_, 1849-1850 (Bibl.
No. 219).

[235] For fuller details, see Bibliography, No. 9, and
for Prospectus of this work, Appendix III, No. 3.

[236] For conflicting accounts of this text, see
Bibliography, No. 10, and for a definitive statement,
Appendix III, No. 3. Miss Maria R. Audubon has told me
that during the War, the Bien firm issued a patriotic
poster, showing an eagle, taken from one of her
grandfather's original drawings, and the American flag;
it was thought that a large number of copies were sold.

[237] Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._

[238] Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_
(Bibl. No. 86), vol. i, p. 380.

[239] See William MacGillivray, _A Memorial Tribute to
William MacGillivray_ (Bibl. No. 211), p. 40.

[240] See Bibliography, Nos. 174 and 219.

[241] See Bibliography, No. 54.

[242] Jacob Pentz (Bibl. No. 81), _loc. cit._

[243] See Bibliography, No. 219.

[244] See Chapter I.

[245] Charles Augustus Stoddard; for his memorial
sermon, see Bibliography, No. 178. In the absence of the
rector of the Church of the Intercession, the pastor of
the Washington Heights Presbyterian Church was called to
officiate at the funeral of Mrs. J. J. Audubon, June 22,
1874.

[246] For the privilege of examining this unique
collection I am indebted to the courtesy of the Society,
and of its librarian, Mr. Kelby.

[247] Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 225), _The Auk_, vol. xxv
(1908).

[248] At that time the American Museum of Natural
History, New York, possessed nine; the Smithsonian
Institution, six; Princeton University, four; Wesleyan
University, Middletown, Connecticut, one, while the
remainder were in private hands.

[249] For the substance of this paragraph, I am indebted
to the Report of the _American Scenic and Historic
Preservation Society_, New York, 1913.

[250] See Mrs. Horace St. John, _Audubon, the Naturalist
of the New World_ (Bibl. No. 71), New York, 1856.

[251] See Valentine's _Manual of the City of New York_,
New York, 1865.

[252] On October 30, 1847, Bachman wrote John and Victor
Audubon that he proposed to visit them in the following
May, when he would leave his two daughters with them
awhile, "to hear you and Victor grumble about that
eye-sore of a railroad, and to enjoy your good company,
and your fish and shrimps."

[253] To Mr. Jesse Benedict.

[254] Mr. Charles F. Stone, whose sister was an artist.

[255] For probable meaning of this term, see Note, Vol.
I, p. 54.

[256] Or acariasis, an affection of the skin caused by
the mange-mite, _Demodex folliculorum_, a microscopic
arachnid parasite found in the sebaceous glands of dog
and man.

[257] A skin disease to which negroes in Central America
are specially prone.

[258] See Vol. I, p. 54.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Audubon the Naturalist (Vol. II of II) - A History of his Life and Time" ***

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