Chapter XXVII: Eastern Visit and Explorations in the North Atlantic (1)

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.

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.]

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.

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.

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.

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.