A MEETING OF RIVALS, AND SKETCH OF ANOTHER PIONEER
Alexander Wilson and his _American Ornithology_—His
canvassing tour of 1810—His retort to a Solomon of
the bench—Descriptions of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati
and Louisville—Meeting with Audubon—Journey to New
Orleans—Youth in Scotland—Weaver, itinerant peddler,
poet and socialist—Sent to jail for libel—Emigrates
to the United States—Finally settles as a school
teacher near Philadelphia—His friendships with Bartram
and Lawson—Disappointments in love—Early studies
of American birds—His drawings, thrift, talents
and genius—Publication of his _Ornithology_—His
travels, discouragements and success—His premature
death—Conflicting accounts of the visit to Audubon
given by the two naturalists—Rivalry between the
friends of Wilson, dead, and those of Audubon,
living—The controversy which followed—An evasive
"Flycatcher"—Singular history of the Mississippi Kite
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