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_.

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."