have excited the wonder and admiration of many people, both in this and
other countries, and who have already acquired a well-earned fame for
their labors among the aborigines of this wilderness, and who are now an
example of the energy of the American people, had, until the year 1832,
no stations among the Blackfeet, Piegans, Blood Indians, or Gros Ventres
de Prairie, these tribes being so hostile and bloodthirsty as to make
the trading, or the erecting of a fort among them too dangerous to be
attempted. At last, however, these dangers and difficulties were
undertaken, commenced, and surmounted, and Fort McKenzie was erected in
the very heart of these tribes. The fort was begun in 1832, under the
superintendence of David D. Mitchell, then one of the clerks of the
Company, now U.S. Superintendent of Indian Affairs. The fort was
completed by me, Alexander Culbertson, then a clerk of the Company, now
one of the partners. During the first year, owing to the exigencies of
the occasion, a temporary, though substantial fort was erected, which,
however, served to protect the daring few who undertook and accomplished
the perilous task. To those who are quietly sitting by their firesides
in the heart of civilized life, enjoying all its luxuries, pleasures,
and comforts, and who are far removed from the prairie land and the red
men, the situation of this party can hardly be pictured. They were
surrounded by dangers of all kinds, but more especially from the tribes
of Indians before mentioned. Two thousand lodges of Blackfeet were near
them, waiting only until an opportunity should offer to satisfy their
thirst for blood, to fall upon and kill them. Apart from this tribe the
others were loitering around them for the same purpose; add to this,
privations, fatigues, hardships, and personal ills which have to be
encountered in a country like this. All, however, was met courageously;
undaunted by appearances, unintimidated by threats, not unmanned by
hardships and fatigues, they pushed ahead, completed the fort, and at
last accomplished their object of establishing a trade with the tribes
above mentioned; and they now enjoy a comparative peace, and are living
upon fairly friendly terms with their late most violent enemies. During
the following year another fort was commenced and completed, and
retained its former name of Fort McKenzie, being named after Kenneth
McKenzie, Esq., one of the partners of the Company. The fort is situated
on the north side of the Missouri, about six miles above the mouth of
the Maria, and about forty miles below the 'Great Falls' of the
Missouri, on a beautiful prairie, about fifteen feet above the
highest-water mark, and about 225 feet from the river. The prairie rises
gradually from the water's edge to the hills in the rear, about half a
mile from the river. It is about a mile long, terminating at a 'cote qui
trompe de l'eau' on the lower end, and in a point at the upper end,
formerly heavily covered with timber, but now entirely destitute.
Opposite the fort is a high perpendicular bank of black clay, rising
from the river to the height of 150 feet; from this all that takes place
within the walls of the fort can be seen, which would seem to have
rendered the placing of the fort in such a position extremely
injudicious. But not through carelessness was this done; it is simply
the _sole place_ in this section of country, near the river, where a
fort can be built, as the land is so rough and uneven as to render the
erection of a fort at any other spot _impossible_. From this bank little
or no danger is apprehended, as the river is about one hundred yards
wide, and a ball fired by the Indians from this height, and at this
distance, with the weapons that they have, would be incapable of doing
any execution. Timber in this country has become very scarce; points
which a few years ago were covered with heavy forests of the different
kinds of wood of the district have by some law of nature become entirely
destitute, especially a point below the island called by the voyageurs
the 'Grand Isle' (which is situated at the commencement of the Mauvaises
Terres), where it has dwindled to a few scattering cottonwoods and box
elders; and this is the only wood now to be found in this section of the
country between 'Grand Isle' and the 'Great Falls' of the Missouri. It
is with the greatest difficulty and economy that from the little wood to
be found the fort is supplied with the necessary fuel; this is dealt out
as a ration, allowing a certain quantity to each room, sufficient,
however, to do the cooking, and warm the inmates. _At all times,_ except
when serving the ration, the wood is kept closely locked. This is one of
the privations of the country, and, indeed the country affords very
little which adds to the comfort of the trader who makes these wilds his
home, except such as can be procured from the wild animals. Three sides
of the fort are built of pickets of hewn cottonwood, squared, placed
close together, eighteen feet long, planted three feet deep in the
earth, leaving fifteen feet above ground. The pickets are connected at
the top by a strong piece pinned to them. The fourth side, facing the
northeast, is built of pickets framed in wooden sills lying in the
ground, similar to those at Fort Union. The fort is two hundred feet
square, ranging north and south and facing south. On the northeast and
southwest corners are bastions built of cottonwood timber, ball proof,
rising about eight feet above the pickets, twenty feet square and
divided into two stories. In each bastion is a cannon, loaded muskets,
cartridges, balls, and every requisite necessary to prevent and repel
any attack that may take place, and which is hourly expected, from the
surrounding tribes of Indians. In each bastion are port and loop holes
for the cannon and muskets, and these command the four sides of pickets,
and an extensive range over the prairie. Along the rear line of pickets,
and about twenty-five feet from them, is the principal range of
buildings in the fort. These are occupied by the Bourgeois, clerks, and
interpreters. It is divided into three apartments; the principal room,
with every comfort that this dreary place affords, belongs to the
Bourgeois and is twenty feet square; and here, to partially remove the
_ennui_ of dull times, is a library of such books as time and
opportunity have permitted the dwellers in the fort to collect; this is
at the command of those who choose to 'drive dull care away,' and
contains a little of everything, science, history, poetry, and fiction.
Adjoining this room is a hall or passage eight feet wide, running from
front to rear of the building, with a door opening into the Bourgeois's
room, another opening into the clerk's room; the clerk's room is also
used as a mess-room and is the same size as that of the Bourgeois.
Adjoining the clerk's room is the one belonging to the interpreters; it
is twenty-four by twenty feet and is also used as a council room, and
reception room for the chiefs that may arrive at the fort. _The chiefs
only_ are admitted within the walls; not that any danger is apprehended
now from them, but to prevent any trouble that might possibly occur were
numbers permitted to enter. The house is of cottonwood logs, with a
plank roof covered with earth, chimneys of mud, two windows and doors in
the Bourgeois's room, one each in the other rooms. The interior is
ceiled and walled with plank. In the Bourgeois's room are two doors made
of pine plank which was sawed in the Rocky Mountains. The house is 75 by
20 ft. Most of the buildings in the fort are made in a similar manner.
Above the three rooms described is a garret extending the whole length
of the building. About three feet back of this edifice is the kitchen, a
neat building twenty feet square, in which everything belonging to this
most important and useful apartment is to be found, always in good
order, clean and bright, as it is the imperative duty of the cook, or
person in charge, to have all connected with this department in perfect
order. From this room _all_ persons are excluded, unless duty or
business requires them to be there. Adjoining this, on the same line
north, is a house of the same dimensions as the kitchen, which is used
for salting and preserving tongues, one of the delicacies of the
civilized world; when not thus used it answers the purpose of a
wash-house. In these buildings are bedrooms occupied by the persons
having charge of these departments. Extending along the west line of
pickets, and about three feet from them, leaving a space between the
range and the Bourgeois's house is a line of buildings divided in four
apartments; one used for a blacksmith's and tinner's shop, another for a
carpenter's shop, one for the tailor, and the other for the men. In the
square formed by the pickets and ends of the Bourgeois's and men's
houses, is a yard for sawing timber, a quantity of which is necessarily
required about the fort. A house running from the south bastion to the
passage, twenty-four feet square, is used as a reception room for war
and trading parties; a door leads from this to the passage formed by the
double gates, thereby cutting off all communication with the interior of
the fort. In this room all parties are received by the interpreter, who
is always ready to smoke and talk with the Indians. Next to this room is
a passage formed by the double gates, and two parallel lines of pickets
extending inwards, making the passage about thirty feet long and twelve
wide; at the ends are two large gates, about twelve feet wide and the
same height. Opposite the room last described is a similar one 20 by 15
ft., in which the Indians bring their robes to trade. Next this is a
trade store, where are kept goods, trinkets, etc., to be traded with the
Indians. The trading is done through a window or wicket two feet square,
and a foot thick, strongly hinged to the picket; this opening is at the
command of the trader, who can open or close it, as the Indians may
appear friendly or otherwise, thereby completely cutting off, if
necessary, all communication between the Indians and the trade store;
and it is through this opening _only_ that trade is carried on. Next
this is a room twenty-four feet square, where all goods obtained from
the Indians are placed as soon as the trade is finished; and adjoining
the trade shop is a room, between it and the pickets, about ten feet
square, with a window and door opening into the trade shop, with a
chimney, fireplace, and stove used only for warming the trader when off
duty, or when awaiting the arrival of Indians. Along the east line of
pickets, and about forty feet from them, is another range of buildings,
about a hundred feet long and twenty deep, divided into five apartments.
The first three are for storing packs of robes, furs, peltries, etc.,
and will hold eighteen hundred packs of robes; the fourth room is a
retail store, 15 by 20 ft., in which is always a good assortment of
stores, the prices fixed by a regular tariff, so no cheating is
possible. All whites buy and sell here. Fifth, is the wholesale
warehouse, in which are boxes, bales, and all goods kept in quantity
till required. Within a few feet of this, and northeast, is the meat
house, twenty-four feet square, in which all meat traded from the
Indians is kept till needed for use. Near the meat house south is a
powder magazine, a hole dug in the ground ten feet square, walled with
timber to the surface, covered with a timber roof four feet above the
surface in the centre, and this is covered to the depth of three feet
with earth; in the roof is an outer door three feet square, opening upon
another of the same size; this is so arranged that in case of fire the
whole can be covered in a few minutes, and rendered fire-proof. In the
southeast corner is a large barn, 60 by 50 ft., capable of containing
sufficient hay for all the cattle and horses during the long, cold,
tedious winters of this country. Adjoining is a range of large and warm
stables for the horses of the fort, and some extra ones if required,
providing them with a good shelter from the piercing cold and severe
storms. Extending from the stables is a range of small buildings used
for keeping saddlery, harness, boat-rigging, tools, etc., thereby
providing 'a place for everything,' and it is required that everything
shall be in its place. Over this is a gallery extending along this line
of pickets, answering the purposes of a promenade, observatory, guard
station, and place of defence. In the southeast corner in front of the
barn is a yard 30 by 60 ft., used for receiving carts, wagons, wood, and
so forth. At the end of the yard in the rear of the dry-goods warehouse
is an ice house, that will contain nearly forty loads of ice; meat
placed here will keep several days in the heat of summer, and thus save
the hunter from a daily ride over the burning prairies. The stock
belonging to the fort consists of thirty to forty horses, ten or twelve
cattle, and a number of hogs. Fort McKenzie boasts of one of the most
splendid Durham bulls that can be found in the United States or
Territories. The area in front of the buildings is about a hundred feet
square; from the centre rises a flag-staff fifty feet high; from this
wave the glorious folds of the starry banner of our native land, made
more beautiful by its situation in the dreary wilderness around it. The
wanderer, as he sees the bright folds from afar, hails them with
gladness, as it means for him a place of safety. No sight is more
welcome to the voyageur, the hunter, or the trapper. That flag cheers
all who claim it as theirs, and it protects all, white men or red. Here
in the wilderness all fly to it for refuge, and depend on it for
security. Upon the arrival or departure of the Bourgeois, men of note,
or arrival and departure of the boats, the flag is raised, and salutes
fired. Here, where but few are gathered together, undying attachments
are formed, a unanimity of feeling exists, to be found perhaps only in
similar situations. When the hour of parting comes it is with regret,
for amid the common dangers, so well known, none know when the meeting
again will be, and when the hour of meeting comes, the joy is honest and
unfeigned that the dangers are safely surmounted. Such is Fort McKenzie,
such are its inmates. Removed as they are from civilization and its
pleasures, home and friends, they find in each other friends and
brothers: friends that forsake not in the hour of danger, but cling
through all changes; brothers in feeling and action, and 'though there
be many, in heart they are one.'"
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "We halted for dinner at a village which we suppose to have belonged
to the Ricaras. It is situated in a low plain on the river, and consists
of about eighty lodges of an octagon form, neatly covered with earth,
placed as close to each other as possible, and picketed round." ("Lewis
and Clark," ed. 1893.)
"The village of the Rikaras, Arickaras, or Rikarees, for the name is
variously written, is between the 46th and 47th parallels of north
latitude, and 1,430 miles above the mouth of the Missouri.... It was
divided into two portions, about eighty yards apart, being inhabited by
two distinct bands. The whole extended about three quarters of a mile
along the river bank, and was composed of conical lodges, that looked
like so many small hillocks, being wooden frames intertwined with osier,
and covered with earth." ("Astoria," W. Irving.)
"From the hills we had a fine prospect over the bend of the river, on
which the villages of the Arikkaras are situated. The two villages of
this tribe are on the west bank, very near each other, but separated by
a small stream. They consist of a great number of clay huts, round at
top, with a square entrance in front, and the whole surrounded with a
fence of stakes, which were much decayed and in many places thrown
down." ("Travels in North America," p. 166, Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)
[2] "General Ashley of Missouri, a man whose courage and achievements in
the prosecution of his enterprises had rendered him famous in the Far
West in conjunction with Mr. [Andrew?] Henry, of the Missouri Trading
Co., established a post on the banks of the Yellowstone River in 1822."
("Capt. Bonneville," W. Irving.)
[3] "We reached the mouth of Le Boulet, or Cannon Ball River. This
stream rises in the Black Mts. and falls into the Missouri; its channel
is about 140 feet wide, though the water is now confined within 40; its
name is derived from the numbers of perfectly round stones on the shore
and in the bluffs just above." ("Lewis and Clark," ed. 1893.)
"We came to an aperture in the chain of hills, from which this river,
which was very high, issues. On the north side of the mouth there was a
steep, yellow clay wall; and on the southern, a flat, covered with
poplars and willows. This river has its name from the singular regular
sandstone balls which are found in its banks, and in those of the
Missouri in its vicinity. They are of various sizes, from that of a
musket ball to that of a large bomb, and lie irregularly on the bank, or
in the strata, from which they often project to half their thickness;
when the river has washed away the earth they then fall down, and are
found in great numbers on the bank. Many of them are rather elliptical,
others are more flattened, others flat on one side and convex on the
other. Of the _perfectly spherical_ balls, I observed some two feet in
diameter. A mile above the mouth of Cannon Ball River I saw no more of
them." ("Travels in North America," p. 167, Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)
[4] Present name of the stream which falls into the Missouri from the
east, about five miles below Fort Rice; Chewah or Fish River of Lewis
and Clark; Shewash River of Maximilian. Audubon is now approaching
Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota.--E. C.
[5] Charles Primeau was born at St. Louis, Mo., entered the American Fur
Company as clerk, and continued in that service many years. Later he
helped to form an opposition company under the name of Harvey, Primeau,
& Co., which did business for a few years, until, like most of the
smaller concerns, it was absorbed by the American Fur Co. He then went
back to his former employers, and afterward was engaged by the U.S.
Government as Indian interpreter, long holding this position. In 1896 he
was living in the vicinity of Fort Yates.--E. C.
[6] The "Assiniboin" was the steamer on which Maximilian, Prince of
Wied, travelled down the Missouri in 1833.
[7] This is an interesting note of the early French name on the Missouri
of the persons about a boat whom we should call "stevedores," or
"roustabouts." The French word _charette_, or _charrette_, occurs also
as a personal name, and it will be remembered that there was a town of
La Charette on the Lower Missouri.--E. C.
[8] Heart River, the stream which falls into the Missouri near the town
of Mandan, about opposite Bismarck, N. Dak. Here the river is now
bridged by the Northern Pacific Railroad, which crosses the Missouri
from Bismarck, and follows up Heart River for some distance.--E. C.
[9] "Fort Clark came in sight, with a background of the blue prairie
hills, and with the gay American banner waving from the flag-staff....
The fort is built on a smaller scale, on a plan similar to that of all
the other trading posts or forts of the company. Immediately behind the
fort there were, in the prairie, seventy leather tents of the Crows."
(Prince of Wied, p. 171.)
Fort Clark stood on the right bank of the Missouri, and thus across the
river from the original Fort Mandan built by Lewis and Clark in the fall
of 1804. Maximilian has much to say of it and of Mr. Kipp.
[10] This Fox was probably the cross variety of the Long-tailed Prairie
Fox, _Vulpes macrourus_ of Baird, Stansbury's Exped. Great Salt Lake,
June, 1852, p. 309; _Vulpes utah_ of Aud. and Bach. Quad. N. Am. iii.,
1853, p. 255, pl. 151 (originally published by them in Proc. Acad.
Philad., July, 1852, p. 114).--E. C.
[11] No doubt the _Mammillaria vivipara_, a small globose species, quite
different from the common _Opuntia_ or prickly pear of the Missouri
region.--E. C.
[12] The individual so designated was an important functionary in these
villages, whose authority corresponded with that of our "chief of
police," and was seldom if ever disputed.--E. C.
[13] "It rises to the west of the Black Mts., across the northern
extremity of which it finds a narrow, rapid passage along high
perpendicular banks, then seeks the Missouri in a northeasterly
direction, through a broken country with highlands bare of timber, and
the low grounds particularly supplied with cottonwood, elm, small ash,
box, alder, and an undergrowth of willow, red-wood, red-berry, and
choke-cherry.... It enters the Missouri with a bold current, and is 134
yards wide, but its greatest depth is two feet and a half, which, joined
to its rapidity and its sand-bars, makes the navigation difficult except
for canoes." ("Lewis and Clark," ed. 1893, pp. 267, 268.)
"We came to a green spot at the mouth of the Little Missouri, which is
reckoned to be 1670 miles from the mouth of the great Missouri. The
chain of blue hills, with the same singular forms as we had seen before,
appeared on the other side of this river." ("Travels in North America,"
Prince of Wied, p. 182.)
[14] At this time the account of the Prince of Wied had not been
published in English; that translation appeared December, 1843, two
years after the German edition.
[15] This is the Little Knife, or Upper Knife River, to be carefully
distinguished from that Knife River at the mouth of which were the
Minnetaree villages. It falls into the Missouri from the north, in
Mountraille Co., 55 miles above the mouth of the Little Missouri. This
is probably the stream named Goat-pen Creek by Lewis and Clark: see p.
274 of the edition of 1893.--E. C.
[16] Or White Earth River of some maps, a comparatively small stream,
eighteen and one half miles above the mouth of Little Knife River.--E.
C.
[17] Present name of the stream which flows into the Missouri from the
north, in Buford Co. This is the last considerable affluent below the
mouth of the Yellowstone, and the one which Lewis and Clark called White
Earth River, by mistake. See last note.--E. C.
[18] Maximilian, Prince of Wied.
[19] This is a synonym of _Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus_, the
Thirteen-lined, or Federation Sphermophile, the variety that is found
about Fort Union being _S. t. pallidus_.--E. C.
[20] Charles Larpenteur, whose MS. autobiography I possess.--E. C.
[21] This is the first intimation we have of the discovery of the
Missouri Titlark, which Audubon dedicated to Mr. Sprague under the name
of _Alauda spragueii_, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 334, pl. 486. It is now
well known as _Anthus (Neocorys) spraguei_.--E. C.
[22] Here is the original indication of the curious Flicker of the Upper
Missouri region, which Audubon named _Picus ayresii_, B. of Am. vii.,
1844, p. 348, pl. 494, after W. O. Ayres. It is the _Colaptes hybridus_
of Baird, and the _C. aurato-mexicanus_ of Hartlaub; in which the
specific characters of the Golden-winged and Red-shafted Flickers are
mixed and obscured in every conceivable degree. We presently find
Audubon puzzled by the curious birds, whose peculiarities have never
been satisfactorily explained.--E. C.
[23] The fact that the _Antilocapra americana_ does shed its horns was
not satisfactorily established till several years after 1843. It was
first brought to the notice of naturalists by Dr. C. A. Canfield of
California, April 10, 1858, and soon afterward became generally known.
(See Proc. Zooel. Soc. Lond. 1865, p. 718, and 1866, p. 105.) Thereupon
it became evident that, as Audubon says, these animals are not true
Antelopes, and the family _Antilocapridae_ was established for their
reception. On the whole subject see article in Encycl. Amer. i., 1883,
pp. 237-242, figs. 1-5.--E. C.
[24] That the account given by Audubon is not exaggerated may be seen
from the two accounts following; the first from Lewis and Clark, the
second from the Prince of Wied:--
"The ancient Maha village had once consisted of 300 cabins, but was
burnt about four years ago (1800), soon after the small-pox had
destroyed four hundred men, and a proportion of women and children....
The accounts we have had of the effects of the small-pox are most
distressing; ... when these warriors saw their strength wasting before a
malady which they could not resist, their frenzy was extreme; they burnt
their village, and many of them put to death their wives and children,
to save them from so cruel an affliction, and that they might go
together to some better country."
"New Orleans, June 6, 1838. We have from the trading posts on the
western frontier of Missouri the most frightful accounts of the ravages
of small-pox among the Indians.... The number of victims within a few
months is estimated at 30,000, and the pestilence is still spreading....
The small-pox was communicated to the Indians by a person who was on
board the steamboat which went last summer to the mouth of the
Yellowstone, to convey both the government presents for the Indians, and
the goods for the barter trade of the fur-dealers.... The officers gave
notice of it to the Indians, and exerted themselves to the utmost to
prevent any intercourse between them and the vessel; but this was a vain
attempt.... The disease first broke out about the 15th of June, 1837, in
the village of the Mandans, from which it spread in all directions with
unexampled fury.... Among the remotest tribes of the Assiniboins from
fifty to one hundred died daily.... The ravages of the disorder were
most frightful among the Mandans. That once powerful tribe was
exterminated, with the exception of thirty persons. Their neighbors, the
Gros Ventres and the Riccarees, were out on a hunting excursion at the
time the disorder broke out, so that it did not reach them till a month
later; yet half the tribe were destroyed by October 1. Very few of those
who were attacked recovered.... Many put an end to their lives with
knives or muskets, or by precipitating themselves from the summit of the
rock near the settlement. The prairie all around is a vast field of
death, covered with unburied corpses. The Gros Ventres and the
Riccarees, lately amounting to 4,000 souls, were reduced to less than
one half. The Assiniboins, 9,000 in number, are nearly exterminated.
They, as well as the Crows and Blackfeet, endeavored to fly in all
directions; but the disease pursued them.... The accounts of the
Blackfeet are awful. The inmates of above 1,000 of their tents are
already swept away. No language can picture the scene of desolation
which the country presents. The above does not complete the terrible
intelligence which we receive.... According to the most recent accounts,
the number of Indians who have been swept away by the small-pox, on the
Western frontier of the United States, amounts to more than 60,000."
[25] _Quiscalus brewerii_ of Audubon, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 345, pl.
492, now known as _Scolecophagus cyanocephalus_. It was new to our fauna
when thus dedicated by Audubon to his friend Dr. Thomas M. Brewer of
Boston, but had already been described by Wagler from Mexico as
_Psarocolius cyanocephalus_. It is an abundant bird in the West, where
it replaces its near ally, _Scolecophagus carolinus_.--E. C.
[26] This is no doubt the _Lepus artemisia_ of Bachman, Journ. Philad.
Acad. viii., 1839, p. 94, later described and figured by Aud. and Bach.,
Quad. N. Am. ii., 1851, p. 272, pl. 88. It is now generally rated as a
subspecies of the common Cottontail, _L. sylvaticus_. Compare also _L.
nuttalli_, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 300, pl. 94.--E. C.
[27] This is the same hybrid Woodpecker which has been already noted on
p. 14.--E. C.
[28] That is, the Chestnut-collared Longspur, _Calcarius ornatus_, which
Mr. Bell was mistaken in supposing to breed in holes of the Ground
Squirrels, or Spermophiles, as it nests on the open ground, like
Sprague's Lark, McCown's Longspur, and most other small birds of the
Western plains. But the surmise regarding the nesting of Say's
Flycatcher is correct. This is a near relative of the common Pewit
Flycatcher, _S. phoebe_, and its nesting places are similar.--E. C.
[29] This passage shows that Audubon observed individuals of the hybrid
Woodpecker which he considered identical with _Colaptes cafer_, and also
others which he regarded as belonging to the supposed new species--his
_C. ayresii_.--E. C.
[30] The usual title or designation of the chief trader or person in
charge of any establishment of a fur company.--E. C.
[31] "The black-tailed deer never runs at full speed, but bounds with
every foot from the ground at the same time, like the mule-deer."
("Lewis and Clark," ed. 1893.)
[32] The above is a very good example of the way these Woodpeckers vary
in color, presenting a case which, as Audubon justly observes, is a
"puzzle to all the naturalists in the world." See note, p. 14.--E. C.
[33] _Vulpes utah_ of Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am. iii., 1853, p. 255,
pl. 151, or _V. macrourus_ of Baird, as already noted. This is the
Western variety of the common Red Fox, now usually called _Vulpes fulvus
macrourus_.--E. C.
[34] Among the "birds shot yesterday," July 26, when Audubon was too
full of his Buffalo hunt to notice them in his Journal, were two, a male
and a female, killed by Mr. Bell, which turned out to be new to science.
For these were no other than Baird's Bunting, _Emberiza bairdii_ of
Audubon, B. Amer, vii., 1844, p. 359, pl. 500. Audubon there says it was
"during one of our Buffalo hunts, on the 26th July, 1843," and adds: "I
have named this species after my young friend Spencer F. Baird, of
Carlisle, Pennsylvania." Special interest attaches to this case; for the
bird was not only the first one ever dedicated to Baird, but the last
one ever named, described, and figured by Audubon; and the plate of it
completes the series of exactly 500 plates which the octavo edition of
the "Birds of America" contains. This bird became the _Centronyx
bairdii_ of Baird, the _Passerculus bairdi_ of Coues, and the
_Ammodramus bairdi_ of some other ornithologists. See "Birds of the
Colorado Valley," i., 1878, p. 630. One of Audubon's specimens shot this
day is catalogued in Baird's Birds of N. Am., 1858, p. 441.--E. C.
[35] See Bell's account of the trip, page 176.
[36] Nuttall's Poor-will, now known as _Phalaenoptilus nuttalli_, which
has a two-syllabled note, rendered "oh-will" in the text beyond.--E. C.
[37] A _parfleche_ is a hide, usually a Buffalo bull's, denuded of hair,
dressed and stretched to the desired shape. All articles made from this
hide are also called parfleche, such as wallets, pouches, etc.
[38] Niobrara River; for which, and for others here named, see the
previous note, date of May 20.
[39] On the south side of the Missouri, in present Nebraska, a short
distance above the mouth of the Big Sioux. This small stream is Roloje
Creek of Lewis and Clark, Ayoway River of Nicollet, appearing by error
as "Norway" and "Nioway" Creek on General Land Office maps.--E. C.
[40] J. H. K. Burgwin. See a previous note, date of May 10.
[41] Of Maine; in 1843 a second lieutenant of the First Dragoons. He
rose during the Civil War to be lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth
Cavalry, and Brevet Major-General of Volunteers; died Jan. 7, 1873.
[42] _Branta hutchinsi._
[43] Audubon's daughter-in-law, Mrs. V. G. Audubon, writes: "He returned
on the 6th of November, 1843. It was a bright day, and the whole family,
with his old friend Captain Cummings, were on the piazza waiting for the
carriage to come from Harlem [then the only way of reaching New York by
rail] There were two roads, and hearing wheels, some ran one way and
some another, each hoping to be the first to see him; but he had left
the carriage at the top of the hill, and came on foot straight down the
steepest part, so that those who remained on the piazza had his first
kiss. He kissed his sons as well as the ladies of the party. He had on a
green blanket coat with fur collar and cuffs; his hair and beard were
very long, and he made a fine and striking appearance. In this dress his
son John painted his portrait."
[44] See page 126.
[45] These extracts, as well as the descriptions by Mr. Denig and Mr.
Culbertson, of Forts Union and McKenzie, which follow, are in Audubon's
writing, at the end of one of the Missouri River journals, and are given
as descriptions of the life and habitations of those early western
pioneers and fur-traders.
EPISODES[46]
These Episodes were introduced in the letterpress of the first three
volumes of the "Ornithological Biographies," but are not in the octavo
edition of the "Birds of America," and I believe no entire reprint of
them has been made before. So far as possible they have been arranged
chronologically.