ROME _January 10 th 1829_.
DEAR SIR,
I received in due time your favours of November 3d. & December
21 st. & now come to thank you for them, wishing you or
rather expressing to you at the occasion of the renewal of
the year, the warm wishes I constantly have for your health,
happiness & especially for the success of your work. From the
contents of your letter I clearly perceive that one at least
of my letters to you must have miscarried. Nothing could be
more interesting to me than the narrative of your journey
to France, though I had heard from other quarters the good &
well deserved reception you met with. Your letter of August 20
th. never came at hand, & it must have been the same with _at
least_ one of mine to you. What you mention about _Temminck
quite astonishes me_! ... I thought he would have undertaken
even a journey to see you & your drawings!!! Please let me
know when you write whether the Ornithological Illustrations
of Jardine, Vigors & Co are stopped or still going on.—The
animals I spoke to you of were reported as delivered to you
by Mr Gray of the British Museum who had received them for me
from the U. States. Is it not so? ... Corvus Cornix with us is
very fond of the sea shore & feeds occasionally on fish, but
I never observed it had the singular habits of C. ossifragus
at least as described by Wilson.
I am surprized at Messrs J B's conduct; I have always
found them extremely kind and well disposed towards me; &
although we have settled our accounts I had no reason to
believe they would refuse our box. However we can do without
their interference quite as well, & I hope you have already
forwarded the box to Leghorn recommending it to the care of my
agent in that port. Messrs F. & A. Filuchs.(?) I shall keep
a good lookout for it being extremely anxious to see your
new number. I should never have done if I was [to] repeat
[to] you all the praise given to your work by our Italian
artists & men of science!... I shall merely state that on my
part I prefer the plate of Goldfinches to any other, birds
and plants, being life itself; & that I am most anxious to
see Astur Stanleyi which I strongly suspect to be my Falco
Cooperii.... By this time, however you may have been able
to ascertain the fact ... please let me know how the thing
stands. It is only by your letter that I hear of my work (2
d) being in London: I have not yet seen a copy myself nor did
I know positively that it had been published. You must surely
have received one _from myself_ at all events, for I directed
Messrs Gay & Lea to let you have one of the very first out.
Let me know whether you have it & your opinion about it.—I
think you are right in going to Russia, especially as in
giving them the American Birds you will probably _give_ us the
Russians, some of which are hardly known. Try to get for me
Pyrrhula longicauda, P. rosea & Scalopax—thalina, _the latter
especially_. I shall not loose sight of the portrait, but it
will be still more difficult to get the signature. I will
however endeavor from some of my relations. You were right
in supposing me "dans les bras de la paix & le bonheur d'un
heureux père de famille" but greatly mistaken to think I was
taking "le plaisir des sciences". Settling and other cursed
worldly affairs have so much taken up my time, that I have not
looked a specimen or a book since I am in Rome ... my small
library itself & my Cabinet have not even been arranged & I
_tremble_ to find all my birds destroyed when the happy day
will come to look into them. In the mean time an addition has
been made six weeks ago to my small family. I have another son
who has received the names of Lucien Louis Joseph Napoleon
& better than that who is the porthrait of health itself.
I am sure you will divide my happiness & excuse my delay in
answering you principally on that account. I am in debt with
half the scientific world & this has been the first letter I
scratched since I am in Rome!... I hope to be more regular &
less in a hurry in future ... though God knows!... I will not
however close this letter without mentionaing the pleasure I
had the other day in getting you a new subscriber & that among
the English themselves.! The Earl of Shrewsbury & his good
Lady highly admired your work the other day at my house & were
so pleased with it that they said they would write immediately
to add their name to the list. The Earl of Shrewsbury is as
you know the first Earl of Great Britain a catholic & what
is more to you a man of great taste. His not having heard of
your work shows that you have not made enough noise about it:
& I am sure his name will be followed by a great many others
to which Mr. Chapittar (Lord Shrewsb. friend) has promised
me to show the work & deliver the prospectuses. Did you hear
of the death of poor Mr Barnes killed by a stag (?). It is a
great loss for the Queen. I remain, Dear Sir, begging you the
London news
your most obliged friend
CHARLES L. BONAPARTE.
[Addressed] Mr. J. J. AUDUBON
79 Newman Street
Oxford St.
London
Inghilterra.
[Endorsed] Answered Feby. 8 th. 1829.
J. J. A.
Audubon continued to work on his paintings during the winter of 1828-9,
hoping to put his affairs in such order that he might be able to start
for America in the following year.
[Illustration: PART OF LETTER OF CHARLES LUCIEN BONAPARTE TO
AUDUBON, JANUARY 10, 1829.
From the Howland MSS.]
CHAPTER XXIV
FIRST VISIT TO AMERICA IN SEARCH OF NEW BIRDS
Audubon settles for a time in Camden—Paints in a fisherman's
cottage by the sea—With the lumbermen in the Great Pine
Woods—Work done—Visits his sons—Joins his wife at St.
Francisville—Record of journey south—Life at "Beechgrove"—Mrs.
Audubon retires from teaching—Their plans to return to
England—Meeting with President Jackson and Edward Everett.
Audubon laid his plans to visit America in 1829 with unusual care, and
was fortunate in being able to entrust his publication to the competent
hands of John George Children, of the British Museum. This was to be
actually his third voyage to the United States, but it was the first
which he made from English soil, and after he had become known as an
ornithologist and animal painter. He wished to renew at least fifty of
his earlier drawings and to obtain new materials of every description.
Although he was naturally anxious to see his wife, from whom he had been
absent for nearly three years, and his boys, the elder of whom had been
left at Shippingport five years before, he felt constrained to devote
to his work every moment that could be spared.
When writing to his wife of his difficulties and prospects at this
period, he assured her that he would act cautiously, with all due
diligence and sobriety, and continued:
Thou art quite comfortable in Louisiana, I know; therefore
wait there with a little patience. I hope the end of this year
will see me under headway sufficient to have thee with me in
comfort here, and I need not tell thee I long for thee every
hour I am absent from thee. If I fail, America will still be
my country, and thou, I will still feel, my friend. I will
return to both and forget forever the troubles and expenses
I have had; when walking together, arm in arm, we can see our
sons before us, and listen to the mellow sounding thrush, so
plentiful in our woods of magnolia.[366]
A little later in 1829 he also wrote: "I have finished the two first
years of publication, the two most difficult to be encountered." At
that time he fully expected that fourteen years would be required for
the completion of his task, owing to the many difficulties experienced,
especially in securing competent workmen, as well as the necessity of
distributing the expense for the benefit of his subscribers.
When Havell had been provided with all the drawings needed for the
remainder of the year 1829 and the first issue of 1830, Audubon
sailed from Portsmouth on the 1st of April, 1829, in the packet ship
_Columbia_, which reached New York on the opening day of May. "I chose
the ship," he said, "on account of her name, and paid thirty pounds for
my passage."
He paused in New York to exhibit his drawings at the Lyceum of Natural
History, of which he had become a member in 1824, but soon hurried
to Philadelphia, and finally settled down for work at Camden, in New
Jersey, later known to fame as the home of "the good gray poet." There,
at a boarding house kept by a Mr. Armstrong, he remained three weeks,
from about May 23 to June 13, hunting and painting every day. From
Camden he went to Great Egg Harbor, then a famous resort of both land
and water birds in great variety, and for three weeks more he lived and
worked in a fisherman's cabin by the sea. It is interesting to recall
that Alexander Wilson, in company with George Ord, had spent a month at
this point in the spring of 1813.
The following letter[367] from Swainson was probably the one to which
Audubon replied from New Jersey on September 14:
_William Swainson to Audubon_
MY DEAR MR. AUDUBON
I welcomed the news of your arrival in America yesterday,
and as I am making up a packet for Liverpool today, I seize
the opportunity of wishing you joy and happiness in the new
world. I am surprised and disappointed as not receiving one
line from Ward it is at the best negligent, and somewhat
ungrateful. Hope you have begun your studies among the birds
on a better plan than formerly, that is, in preserving the
skins of every one on which there is the least doubt whether
the bird is young or old, particularly the former. If you are
to give scientific descriptions and definitions of the species
this precaution is absolutely necessary. What your Americans
do with their money I know not, Mr. Lea tells me he cannot
procure one purchaser for my new Illustrations: _here_ it is
now going on very well.
You asked me what you can do for me in America. I will tell
you. Send me a cart load of shells from the Ohio, or from any
of the _Rivers near New Orleans_. The _very smallest_, as well
as the _very_ largest—_all sizes_. I have been long expecting
those which your son promised you for me near twelve months
ago! _but I have heard nothing of them_! you may spend a few
dollars for me and send people to fish the shells at the dry
season, when the waters are _low_, that is the best time.
Things go on here much as usual, but I have not been in London
since Xmas. The first volume, containing the Quadrupeds, of
Dr. Richardson's work, is out. I am now busy in preparing the
second, which contains the Birds. Let me particularly direct
your attention to the manners of the Cedar Bird, Ampelis
Americana. I suspect it feeds much on Insects in default of
fruit, but what is desirable, is to know _the way_ in which
it captures Insects, whether as a flycatcher i.e. by seizing
them on the wing, or like the Gold crest—by picking them up
among the branches or leaves. I am now in close correspondance
with Charles Bonaparte, & a most valuble correspondant he is.
Mrs. Swainson is just recovering from her confinement after
giving me another little son I am happy today they are both
going on well.
Wilson I believe mentions _two_ birds very like the Red eyed
Flycatcher, this is a point deserving your attention, but
the _manners_ of these birds are much more important. I feel
convinced there are several species of my Genus _Ammodramus_
shore finch, in the So. States, they all have narrow pointed
tails, like the seasidefinch of Wilson. I further suspect
there is more than one species confounded with the Towee
Buntling.
I hope soon again to hear more fully from you, and of your
ornithological acquisitions. The dear little ones are quite
well.
Yours very sincerely,
WM. SWAINSON
THE GREEN _26 June 1829_.
MR. JOHN J. AUDUBON
care of
Mess. THOMAS E. WALKER & CO.
Merchants.
New York [Philadelphia]
On the 4th of July Audubon returned to Philadelphia and prepared for a
longer sojourn in the Great Pine Forest, or Great Pine Swamp, as it was
sometimes called, in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. In this letter
to his son we shall find an account of his plans and accomplishments:
_Audubon to his son, Victor_
PHILADELPHIA, _July 5 th., 1829_.
MY DEAR VICTOR:—
I have been in America two months this day, and not a word
from you have I had in answer to my several letters, dated
New York, and at this place. I am also without answer from
your Mama, but do not feel so surprised as I know that about 2
months is the time necessary to have a return from Louisiana.
I have come to take your Mama over to England, if her wish
inclines her to do so, and have wrote fully to her, giving
her all the particulars respecting my situation that I thought
could possibly be trusted to a letter.
I have also come to America to redraw some of my earliest
productions, and am now closely engaged at this. I remained
near this city for 3 weeks, and since have spent 3 more at
Great Egg Harbour, from which place I returned yesterday. I
have already 13 drawings by me. I have letters from London, up
to 30 th. April, when all my business was going on well with
an increase of 4 subscribers. I have no news to transmit; on
the contrary, I was in hopes that ere this I should have had
at least one long letter from you. I beg you will write me
when you last heard from your Mama. Direct your letter to the
care of Messrs Thos. E. Walker, & Co, merchants here, who know
all my movements, and will see anything forwarded to wherever
I may choose to go to.
I hope your uncle Berthoud & family are all well; present them
my best regards, and to all others who may feel interested in
my welfare, and believe me
your affectionate father,
JOHN J. AUDUBON.
I have bought a good gold time-keeper, intended for you,
and a copy bound, of my work, and wish to know how it can be
forwarded. God bless you.
After outfitting himself in Philadelphia, Audubon proceeded to Mauch
Chunk; his provisions for this journey to the forest consisted of
a "wooden box containing a small stock of linin, drawing-paper, my
journal, colors and pencils, together with twenty pounds of shot,
several flints, a due quantum of cash, my gun 'Tear Jacket,' and a heart
as true to nature as ever." From Mauch Chunk he traveled fifteen miles
into the heart of the wooded hills, and was received into the family of
Jedediah Irish, lumberman and philosopher, whose praise was celebrated
in a later "Episode."[368] "What pleasure," said the naturalist, "I had
in listening to him, as he read his favourite poems of Burns, while
my pencil was occupied in smoothing and softening the drawing of the
bird before me. Was this not enough to recall to my mind the early
impressions that had been made upon it by the description of the golden
age, which I here found realized?"
During his stay in the forest Audubon paid particular attention to the
smaller land birds, such as finches, warblers and flycatchers, and
many of the original drawings which were made in the summer of 1829
still bear his penciled designations of time and place[369]. About ten
weeks[370] were spent in the woods, from late July until the 10th of
October, when the naturalist returned to Philadelphia and settled again
for a time in Camden. At this period he was enjoying the best of health
and spirits, and he worked during the entire season under the highest
pressure of which he was capable. At Camden, October 11, 1829, he wrote:
I am at work, and have done much, but I wish I had eight pairs
of hands, and another body to shoot the specimens, still I am
delighted at what I have accumulated in drawings this season.
Forty-two drawings in four months, eleven large, eleven middle
size, and twenty-two small, comprising ninety-five birds, from
Eagles downwards, with plants, nests, flowers, and sixty kinds
of eggs.[371] I live alone, see scarcely any one, besides
those belonging to the house where I lodge. I rise long before
day, and work till night-fall, when I take a walk, and to bed.
At about the middle of October Audubon set out to join his family in the
South. Crossing the mountains by mail-coach to Pittsburgh, where he met
his former partner in business, Thomas Pears (see p. 254), he descended
once more his favorite river, the Ohio. It was no longer necessary to
rough it on a flatboat or to sleep on a steamer's deck; it was to be
"poor Audubon" no longer. To be sure, he was not rich, but he had made
his way and his mark, and the attention which he now began to receive
when traveling in his adopted land must have gratified his heart. He
paused at Louisville to visit his two boys, the elder of whom, Victor,
was then a clerk in the office of his uncle, William G. Bakewell, while
John was with another uncle, Nicholas A. Berthoud. Hastening on he
reached Bayou Sara on November 17, where he finally joined his wife, who
was living at the home of William Garrett Johnson, in West Feliciana
Parish, near Wakefield. Some account of this journey is given in the
following letter,[372] written on the eighteenth to Dr. Richard Harlan;
in the postscript Audubon gives the first reference to a new hawk which
he proposed to name after his friend, and which has given no little
trouble to ornithologists ever since:[373]
_Audubon to Dr. Richard Harlan_
[Superscribed] RICHD HARLAN Esqr. M. D. &c &c &c
Philadelphia Pensa
ST FRANCISVILLE LOUISIANA _Novembr 18th
1829_—
MY DEAR FRIEND.—
You will see by the data of this the rapidity with which I
have crossed _two thirds_ of the United States. I had the
happiness of pressing my beloved wife to my breast Yesterday
morning; saw my two sons at Louisville and all is well.—from
Philadelphia to Pittsburgh I found the Roads, the Coaches,
horses Drivers and Inns all much improved and yet needing
a great deal to make the traveller _quite comfortable_—The
slownesse of the stages is yet a great bore to a man in a
hurry—I remained part of a day at Pittsburgh where of course I
paid my respects to the Museum! I was glad to see the germ of
one—it is conducted by a very young man named Lambdin—I made
an arrangement with him [place of seal—paper gone] &c. &c.
&c. at Cincinnati I also visited the Museum [paper gone] it
scarsely improves since my last view of it, except indeed by
wax figures and such other shows as are best suitable to make
money and the least so to improve the mind.—I could not see
D [illegible] my time was very limited.—The Ohio was in good
order for Navigation and I reached Louisville distant from
you about 1,000 Miles in one week.==as you spoke of travelling
westwardly I give you here an a/c of the Fare.—to Pittsburgh
all included 21$.—to Louisville 12$.—and 25$ more to Bayou
Sarah where I Landed. 30$ is the price from Louisville to N.
Orleans.==our Steam Boats are commodious and go well—but my
Dear Friend the most extraordinary change has taken place
in appearance as I have proceeded.—The foliage had nearly
left the Trees in Pensylvania, the Swallows had long since
disapeared severe frost indeed had rendered Nature gloomy
and uninteresting—Judge of the contrast: I am now surrounded
by _Green Trees_ and Swallows gambole around the house as in
Pensylvania during June & July==The mock bird is heard to sing
and during a Walk with my Wife yesterday I collected some 20
or 30 Insects==that is not all, a friend of mine here _says_
that he has discovered 2 or 3 _New Birds_!!!—new Birds are new
birds our days, and I shall endeavour to shew you the Facts
Simile when again I shall have the pleasure of shaking your
hand—
although so lately arrived, I have established the fact that
Mrs A. and myself will be on our way towards "Old England"
by the 15th of Jan.y. we will ascend the Mississipi and
after resting ourselves at Louisville with our sons and other
relatives about one month and then proceed with the Rapidity
on the Wild Pigeon should God grant our wishes!—
have you seen or heard any thing of Ward?—have you the little
sketch of Dear?==we had a passenger on Board the Huntress
named _Potts_ from your City who knows you well as lively
young Gentleman; has a Brother (a Clergyman) established and
married at Natchez.—
I will begin Drawing next week having much scratching with the
Pen to perform this one, and I am also desirous to make [paper
gone] Large Shipment of aborigines both animal and vegetal as
soon as possible.—Turkeys, Aligators, Oppossums, Paroekett,
and plants, as Bignonias &c &c &c. will be removed to
the Zoological Gardens of London, from the Natural ones of
this Magnificent Louisiana!—meantimes I will not forget _my
Friends in Phila._ no I would rather forgive all, to all
my Ennemies there.—assure Dr. Hammersley that Ivory Billed
and Peleated Woodpeckers will be skinned, and who knows but
I may find something more for him.—I will give free leave to
Dr. Pickering to chuse amongst the Insects and who knows but
I may find something new for him. remember me most kindly to
both, nay not in the common manner of saying "Mr Audubon begs
to be remembered" no not [at] all. This way Mr A remembers
_you_ and _you_ and _I_ will remember _you_ and _you_ and _I_
always!!—
May I also beg to be remembered in humble words to a fine pair
of Eyes; divided, not by the Allegany Mountains; but by a nose
evidently imported from far _East_, to a placid forehead, to
a mouth speaking happiness to——[dash nearly across page.]
Should you see Friend Sully remember me to him also—and should
you see George Ord Esqr. _Fellow_ of all the Societies
_Imaginable_ present him my most humble——[dash line more than
across the page.]
Should you see that good woman where I boarded at Camd'den
tell her that I am well and thankful to her for her attentions
to me.—
I cannot hope the pleasure of an answer from you here but you
may do so, and I say pray do so, directed to the care of N.
Berthoud Esqr Louisville Kentucky.—by the bye my sons are
taller than me, the eldest one so much altered that I did not
know him at first sight, and yet I have _Eyes_—
God bless You, Your Friend
JOHN J. AUDUBON.
[The following is written across the first page:]
I reopened my letter to say that I have Just _now_ killed a
Large _New Falcon yes positively a new Species of Hawk almost
black about_ 25 Inches Long and 4 feet broad tail square Eye
yellowish White, Legs and Feet bare short & strong.——I will
skin it!!!—
remember me to Lehman——
What I have said about the Hawk to You must be _Lawful_ to
_Academicians_ and you will please announce _Falco Harlanii_
by
JOHN J. AUDUBON
_F. L. S. L._
The following extracts are from a letter[374] written by Swainson,
January 30, 1830, and sent to Havell in London to be readdressed:
_William Swainson to Audubon_
I know not in what part of the Wilds of America you may now
be wandering, but I hope you are fully intent upon your great
object, and that you are not only making drawings, and taking
notes, _but preserving Skins_, of all your little favorites.
Don't forget the _Shrikes_, of which I have strong suspicions
there are 2 or 3 species mixed up with the name of Loggerhead.
Should you be in the land of the _Scarlet Ibis_, do pray
procure a dozen or two of the best skins, they are the most
magnificent birds of No. America, and are said to be common
towards New Orleans.
You will learn frm the Newspapers how uncommonly severe is
our winter the snow has now been upon the ground five weeks
and it is still falling. I manage, however, to walk out every
day, and thus have acquired better health than I have enjoyed
for many years.
Previous to your embarking to England, which I hope you will
do very early in the spring you must do me one favor. Bring
me two Grey Squirrels alive, and a cage full of little birds,
either the painted or non-Pareil finch the Blue finch, or the
Virginian Nightingale, as they are called, 3 or 4 of each to
guard against casualties by death on the voyage. I do not care
one farthing whether they sing or not, so that I presume they
may be got for a mere trifle. The Squirrels would delight the
little people beyond measure, and would prove a never-failing
source of amusement to them. I believe you have other kinds
than the _grey_, so that any will do. If you cannot get them
pray supply their place by two Parrots of America.
We continue pretty well at the Green. Seldom go to town,
but I find people begin to discover the true character of V
[igors]. and many that were formerly his friends now speak
very differently of him. His father having died the property
has come to him. He has now taken a fine house in the Regents
park, and holds _conversaziones_ (in humble imitation of those
of the President of the Royal Society) every Sunday evening
_during the season_!! all this is very grand, and he appears
to have abandoned writing any more papers on ornithology,
since I have begun to point out his errors.
Ward wrote to me since my last, he is a poor weak fellow, with
a good natural disposition, but so little to be depended upon,
that he is turned round by every feather, after inserting that
he could not go on "in my service" as he called it, under
_ten dollars_ a week, he now says he should be most happy
to receive _four_. He says not a word of his marriage, which
proves his wish to decive one. I have done with him.... I hope
you have got me _lots of River shells_.
About the beginning of the year 1827 Mrs. Audubon gave up
her "Beechwoods" school, and thereafter took a position as
governess in the home of Mr. William Garrett Johnson, whose
plantation, called "Beechgrove," was situated in the same
parish. An anonymous writer thus referred to this house in
1851.[375]
In the hospitable mansion of W. G. J——, in the parish of West
Feliciana, if one will look into the parlor, they will see
over the piano a cabinet sized portrait, remarkable for a
bright eye and intellectual look. The style of it is free, and
there is an individuality about the whole that gives assurance
of a strong likeness. Opposite hangs a proof impression of the
bird of Washington, a tribute of a grateful heart to an old
friend. The first is a portrait of Audubon painted by himself;
the other is one of the first [of his] engravings that ever
reached the United States.
There Audubon spent nearly two months at the close of 1829, and followed
his usual occupations of hunting and drawing, while his wife prepared
for their contemplated journey to Europe. He is said to have drawn at
this time the "Black Vulture attacking a herd of Deer," several large
hawks, squirrels, and heads of deer which were never finished.
Although Audubon's business affairs in England had been left in charge
of his trustworthy friend, John G. Children, his engraver, Havell, had
become alarmed at the loss of subscribers and the failure of certain
of their agents, and particularly M. Pitois of Paris,[376] to render
due returns. Havell, as it proved, was unduly disturbed, but his gloomy
accounts tended to hasten the naturalist's departure, a circumstance
that was later deplored. These matters are clearly reflected in the
following letter written from the Johnson home in Louisiana when the
Audubons were preparing to leave it; particularly interesting are
the included statements through which it was hoped that a competent
successor might be secured for the duties of the position which Mrs.
Audubon had so ably filled:
_Audubon to Robert Havell_
BEECH GROVE, LOUISIANA
_Decr 16th 1829_
MY DEAR MR. HAVELL.—
I received yesterday from New York your letter of the 29th.
Sept. which must have reached Philadelphia 3 days after my
departure for home==
I am sorry that Bartley should have made you suffer a
moment by sending you the intelligence of the failure of the
several subscribers you mention in your favor—it cannot be
helped—there is none of your fault and _I_ must repair these
matters when I reach England again==
I am considerably more sorry and much vexed that Sowler should
have failed in his _written_ promise to accept your Dfts.—even
in a case of the diminution of subscribers he could certainly
have sent you a progressional amount—I am now _almost_ sure
that Pitois has failed or acted the Rogue==
We are making all preparations in our power to leave Louisiana
on the 5 or 10th. of Jan.y and we will proceed as fast as
Steam Boats, Coaches and the weather will admit of and we will
sail for England from New York with all possible dispatch.
I have made a shipment of Forest trees to England that I
hope will turn to good account as they are to be presents to
Public Institutions &c and that I think it necessary to be
_remembered myself_.—
We are both well—our sons are at Louisville, Kentucky where
we will see them about the 20th. of next month.—I sent you
in my letter a proposal for your sister and should you not
have received it I send it you again here in Mrs A.'s. hand
writing.—_I would advise your sister to come_ if the _money_
is an object.—I think that besides she will be comfortable
with the familly Johnson—if she thinks fit to wait untill we
see her, we can tell her all about it.==
I have received only one letter from friend Children during
all this absence against my very many—I hope the insects I
sent him by the Annibal have reached safely.—have no news to
give you—Keep up a good heart—we will be in London as soon
as possible.—I have not had a letter from Miss Hudson for a
long time—I hope her mother & her are well—Remember me kindly
to your Dear Wife and Little ones—Mrs Audubon joins me in all
good wishes—If you see Parker my remembrances to him==I will
carry with me some Drawings that I know will make the _graver_
and the _Acid_ Grin again.—
Believe me your friend—
JOHN J. AUDUBON.
When you present my sincere regards to friend Swanson
[Swainson] tell him that I have had only one letter from him
and that I am now quite unable to say where Mr Ward is==I
had a letter from Henry Havell[377] the other day merely
acknowledging the money I have paid him—he was in New York,
I hope quite well—
[Enclosure]
A friend of ours here named Wm. Garrett Johnson (a cotton
planter) a gentleman who resides in a perfectly healthy and
agreeable part of the country, desires that I should write
to England to procure for him a Governess, one who can teach
music, drawing and the usual branches of education to young
Ladies. Mr. Johnson will pay the sum of one thousand dollars
per annum, board, lodging &c, also and considered in all
respects as a member of the family, to any lady who will
undertake occupation (the sum is about 230£) the governess
will have to instruct ten or twelve young persons of various
ages, and may make the arrangement for five years if desirous
of it. I have thought this would suit your sister precisely,
and for my part knowing the family Johnson as I do I should
think it an excellent thing for her. if not I will look for
some one when I am in England, Sailing from England direct for
New Orleans, steam Boats reach the place of Mr Johnson in two
days.
Duplicate.
I, Wm. Garrett Johnson do authorize my friend J. J. Audubon
to make the above proposition and do by these present obligate
myself to comply with them punctually and particularly.
WM. GARRETT JOHNSON.
[Addressed]
MR ROBT HAVELL JUR
Engraver
79 Newman Street
Oxford Street
_London_
England
"On January 1, 1830," said the naturalist, "we started for New Orleans,
taking with us the only three servants yet belonging to us, namely,
Cecilia, and her two sons, Reuben and Lewis. We stayed a few days at
our friend Mr. Braud's, with whom we left our servants, and on the
seventh of January took passage on the splendid steamer _Philadelphia_
for Louisville, paying sixty dollars fare."[378] After a long visit
with their sons, on the seventh of March they ascended the Ohio to
Cincinnati, and at Wheeling took the mail-coach to Washington. At
the national capital Audubon met the President, Andrew Jackson, and
was befriended by Edward Everett, at that time a leader in the House
of Representatives. "Congress," said the naturalist, "was then in
session, and I exhibited my drawings to the House of Representatives,
and received their subscription as a body." He also recorded that he
obtained three subscribers in Baltimore, and left for Philadelphia,
where they remained a week. The following note, which Edward Everett
gave Audubon for New York, is particularly interesting, since it
expressly states that at that time the ornithologist had not received
a single subscriber in the United States:
_Edward Everett to Dr. Wainwright_
WASHINGTON _18 March 1830_
MY DEAR SIR,
Allow me to introduce to your acquaintance, the bearer of this
letter, Mr. Audubon of Louisiana. His drawings of American
Birds, of which he will show you some, will I am sure command
your approbation, as they have the applause of Europe.—I
am sorry to say, that he has not yet procured a single
subscriber, in the United States of America. Will not one
of your Institutions in New York—or your wealthy and liberal
individuals—take a copy? I pray you endeavor to procure him
at least one subscriber, in New York.—
Yours with great regard
E. EVERETT.
REV DR WAINWRIGHT
Audubon had evidently reconsidered his expressed intention of presenting
a copy[379] to Congress, and to Edward Everett belongs the credit of
subscribing to _The Birds of America_ in behalf of the Congressional
Library. At about this time also he obtained another subscriber at
Washington, in the person of Baron Krudener, the Russian envoy, but
later experienced difficulty in collecting his dues.[380]
CHAPTER XXV
AUDUBON'S LETTERPRESS AND ITS RIVALS
Settlement in London—Starts on canvassing tour with
his wife—Change of plans—In Edinburgh—Discovery of
MacGillivray—His hand in the _Ornithological Biography_—Rival
editions of Wilson and Bonaparte—Brown's extraordinary
atlas—Reception of the _Biography_—Joseph Bartholomew Kidd
and the Ornithological Gallery—In London again.
On the 1st of April, 1830, Audubon and his wife sailed from New York in
the packet ship _Pacific_, bound for Liverpool, where they landed after
a voyage of twenty-five days. Upon returning to London the naturalist
found that upon the 18th of the preceding March he had been elected to
membership in the Royal Society, an honor for which he felt indebted
to Lord Stanley and his friend Children, of the British Museum; after
paying the entrance fee of £50, he took his seat in that body on the
6th of May. The painting of pictures was at once resumed to meet his
heavy expenses, but towards the end of July he started with Mrs. Audubon
on a canvassing tour, in the course of which his plans suddenly were
changed so that London did not see him again for nearly a year.[381]
On this journey they touched at Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, York,
Hull, Scarborough, Whitby, New Castle, and Belford, to visit the Selbys,
and on the 13th of October reached Edinburgh, where they were soon
comfortably settled in the naturalist's old lodging place, the house of
Mrs. Dickey, Number 26, George Street.
Audubon was now ready to begin the text of his _Birds of America_, to
be called _Ornithological Biography_, which is often referred to as his
"Biography of Birds." This work, which was eventually extended to five
large volumes of over three thousand pages, was published at Edinburgh
from 1831 to 1839. He had made crude beginnings with this in view as
early as 1821, and on October 16, 1830, he wrote: "I know that I am
not a scholar ..." but, "with the assistance of my old journals and
memorandum-books, which were written on the spot, I can at least put
down plain truths, which may be useful, and perhaps interesting, so I
shall set to at once. I cannot, however, give scientific descriptions,
and here must have assistance." To supply this need, as we have
seen already, he had earlier applied to William Swainson, but the
negotiations with that naturalist were soon broken off, and led to a
sharp and acrid discussion upon the authorship of the work itself.[382]
By a rare stroke of genius or good fortune, Audubon chose for his
assistant a young Scotch naturalist, William MacGillivray, who had
been introduced to him by another naturalist, James Wilson, soon after
he reached the Scottish capital. MacGillivray agreed "to revise and
correct" his manuscript at the rate of two guineas per sheet of sixteen
pages, and in the latter part of October, 1830, they set to work.
We shall soon have occasion to speak more fully of his debt to this
estimable Scotchman,[383] and will only add here that a better trained
or more competent helper than MacGillivray could hardly have been found
in Great Britain or elsewhere.
[Illustration: MRS. DICKIE'S "BOARDING RESIDENCE," 26 GEORGE
STREET, EDINBURGH, WHERE AUDUBON OCCUPIED APARTMENTS AND
PAINTED AND WROTE IN 1826-27 AND 1830-31. A LARGE PUBLIC
BUILDING NOW OCCUPIES THE SITE.
After a photograph in possession of Mr. Ruthven Deane.]
[Illustration: THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF
PHILADELPHIA.
After an old print; reproduced from _Cassinia_ for 1910.]
No sooner had Audubon begun to write than it was learned that "no
less than three editions of 'Wilson's Ornithology' were about to be
published, one by Jameson, one by Sir W. Jardine, and another by a
Mr. Brown." The outlook could not be considered encouraging, but this
intelligence only nerved him to greater effort, and he was determined to
push his own publication with such unremitting vigor as to anticipate
them all. "Since I have been in England," he wrote in his journal, "I
have studied the character of Englishmen as carefully as I have studied
the birds in America, and I know full well that in England novelty is
always in demand, and that if a thing is well known it will not receive
much support." Audubon worked continuously at his _Biography_, rising
before the dawn and writing all day, while the able worker at his side
carried his efforts far into the night, and in three months the first
volume was ready for the printer; Mrs. Audubon meanwhile copied their
entire manuscript to be sent to the United States in order to secure
the American copyright. When this work was offered to the publishers at
Edinburgh, however, not one of them, said the naturalist, would offer a
shilling for it, but this did not deter him from publishing it at once
and at his own expense.[384] On March 13, 1831, he wrote: "The printing
will be completed in a few days, and I have sent copies of the sheets
to Dr. Harlan, and Mr. McMurtie, at Philadelphia, and also one hundred
pounds sterling to Messrs. T. Walker & Sons, to be paid to Dr. Harlan
to secure the copyright, and have the book published there."
The following friendly letter from one of Wilson's editors belongs to
this period:
_Sir William Jardine to Audubon_
JARDINE HALL _3 d Decr. 1830_—
MY DEAR SIR,
I only learnt a few days since that you were to winter in
Edinburgh, and perhaps since you are not Hurried for time in
Trovelly [?] will come out to spend a day or two with me—If
you can come out before the 10 th. when I shall have the
pleasure of shewing you some Blackgame Shooting—The season
expires on the Tenth of the Month partridges have bred so
ill that there is scarsely any in the whole country, and
pheasants have been so lately introduced that they are yet
rather scarce—In a wet day you may have your easel & brushes
I should wish much to hear your account of Wilson during the
times you hunted with him—and also some account of the New
Species you figure in the american Ornithology—
I am happy to learn you intend _figuring_ the learned Men
of America as accompanyment to your work particularly the
ornithologists, do you know the painter of the portrait of
Wilson—I have three portraits of him in the House, and also
a profile taken by the machine I should like to have your
opinion of them one of the portraits was painted from an
original that went to America—
I shall expect to hear you are coming soon—Mr Lizars will tell
you about coaches—&c
With best regards believe me
Sincerely yours
WM JARDINE
[Addressed] J. AUDUBON Esqr
Care of W. H. LIZARS Esqr
3 James Square
Edinburgh.
[Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF VOLUME I OF THE "ORNITHOLOGICAL
BIOGRAPHY."
From a copy presented by Audubon to William MacGillivray and
bearing the latter's signature.]
Audubon was not outstripped by his Edinburgh rivals, who to all
appearances had planned to cover the field of American ornithology
so thoroughly as to render his work a drug on the market, if not to
make it superfluous. Whether this were really true or not, there is
no doubt that Audubon's activity furnished the stimulus to the sudden
appreciation of the work of his predecessor that was manifested in
Edinburgh at this very moment of time. It will be interesting to see
just what these rival enterprises were. Professor Jameson, who had
been of great service to Audubon at the beginning of his undertaking,
prepared a pocket edition of Wilson's and Bonaparte's _Ornithology_,
with miniature plates which were issued separately, and the two works,
which were intended to go together, were published in 1831.[385] Sir
William Jardine brought out an edition of Wilson's and Bonaparte's
work, in three large volumes, with plates engraved by W. H. Lizars after
the originals and carefully colored by hand.[386] This was thoroughly
legitimate enterprise, but the climax was reached when Captain Thomas
Brown began to publish an "Audubonized edition" of Wilson's and
Bonaparte's plates, or an attempt to present their plates of American
birds in the Audubonian manner, to the extent at least of showing the
characteristic flowers, trees, and insects of the American continent,
a plan to which some of Audubon's earlier critics in Philadelphia
had offered strenuous objection. Brown's large atlas of plates[387]
was issued in parts, from 1831 to 1835, and was intended as a further
companion to Jameson's text for all who could afford that expensive form
of illustration. By a curious coincidence Audubon's _Ornithological
Biography_ (vol. i), Jameson's edition of Wilson and Bonaparte (vol.
i), and Brown's _Illustrations_ (pt. i), were all noticed on the same
page of the _London Literary Gazette_ for April 9, 1831. "This day is
published," so reads the advertisement of Audubon's work, "price 25s.
in royal octavo, cloth, Ornithological Biography...." If the desire
of these various editors were to cripple the work of the American
naturalist, their efforts were certainly vain, for he was able to make
his way against all competitors. Brown's work was a failure, so few
copies having been distributed that it is doubtful if more than one ever
came to this country, and only one is known to be in possession of any
large library in England.
Audubon's initial volume of the _Biography_ was well received and
drew forth immediate and unstinted praise from many sources. He was
anxious that MacGillivray should contribute some account of it to the
London _Quarterly Review_, then under the editorial management of John
Gibson Lockhart, but his suggestion was coldly received and drew forth
the following declaration of independence from his able, if as yet
undistinguished, coadjutor:[388]
With respect to the review, I can only say that if Mr.
Lockhart is so doubtful as to my powers, he may doubt as
long as he lists. I shall not submit any essay of mine to his
judgment. If you had informed me that he or the conductor of
my other review would print a notice of your works, I should
have agreed to write one with pleasure, but under existing
circumstances I shall not, it being repugnant to my feelings
and contrary to my practice and principles to sue for favor
with any man. I have already written three reviews of your
books which have been printed, and when I am applied to for
a fourth I shall write it too, with "an elegance of style, a
power of expression, and knowledge of the subject" equal to
those usually displayed by the editor of the Quarterly.
Some of the criticism, whether friendly or hostile, which this work
eventually evoked will be considered in a later chapter.
Shortly after his arrival in London, Audubon received a call from
Joseph Bartholomew Kidd, a young artist whom he had met at Edinburgh
the previous March, and was attracted so much by his "youth, simplicity
and cleverness" that he again invited him to paint in his rooms. On the
31st of March, 1831, an agreement was made with Kidd[389] to copy some
of his drawings in oils and put in appropriate backgrounds. "It was our
intention," said Audubon, "to send them to the exhibition for sale, and
to divide the amount between us. He painted eight, and then I proposed,
if he would paint the one hundred engravings which comprise my first
volume of the Birds of America, I would pay him one hundred pounds."
In 1832 Captain Thomas Brown gave this notice of the undertaking in the
_Caledonian Mercury_:
About a year ago Audubon conceived the grand idea of a Natural
History Gallery of Paintings, and entered into an agreement
with Mr. Kidd to copy all his drawings of the same size, and
in oil, leaving to the taste of that excellent artist to add
such backgrounds as might give them a more pictorial effect.
In the execution of such of these as Mr. Kidd has finished,
he has not only preserved all the vivacious character of the
originals, but he has greatly heightened their beauty, by the
general tone and appropriate feeling which he has preserved
and carried throughout his pictures.
Kidd worked intermittently on some such scheme for about three years,
and produced numerous pictures on canvas or mill-board. He was thus
engaged in 1833 when he wrote to ask for an advance of from twelve
to fourteen pounds on account of an accident that had befallen him
on the 16th of May of that year. Kidd said in his letter that while
he was attending a sale of Lord Eldin's pictures, the floor of the
building suddenly gave way with a crash and precipitated the whole
company, together with the furniture, into a room below; that he had
sustained many bruises himself, not to speak of a dislocated arm, but
what with blisters, cupping, nurses and remedies of all sorts, he was
then slowly mending. Another of their projects was to publish Kidd's
copies of Audubon's drawings as individual pieces, and a notice of this
appeared in _Blackwood's Magazine_ for 1831. John Wilson, in reviewing
Audubon's work in the magazine for that year said: "it is expected that
there will be completed by Audubon, Kidd, and others,—Four Hundred
Subjects. Audubon purposes opening, on his return [from America], an
Ornithological Gallery, of which may the proceeds prove a moderate
fortune!" All such plans, however, seem to have been delayed or
frustrated, and a misunderstanding with Kidd brought them suddenly to a
close in 1833. Audubon's explicit directions under this head were given
in a letter to his son Victor, written at Charleston on Christmas Day
of that year.[390]
When his letterpress was finished, Audubon left Edinburgh with Mrs.
Audubon on April 15, 1831. Newcastle, York, Leeds, and Manchester were
again visited, and a pause of several days was made at Liverpool before
proceeding to London, when, as the naturalist recorded, they "traveled
on that extraordinary road, called the railway, at the rate of 24 miles
an hour." In May[391] they visited Paris, Audubon no doubt wishing to
collect the money due from his agent there, as well as to introduce his
wife to the unrivaled attractions of the great city. Upon returning to
London in July he had the pleasure of again meeting his _fidus Achates_,
Edward Harris,[392] of Moorestown, New Jersey, and immediately began to
put his affairs in order for a long period of absence.
While Audubon was in Paris, the following letter[393] was written by
his staunch friend and supporter in Congress, Edward Everett, who, as
has been seen, fully appreciated the national character of his great
undertakings. The effort of this able advocate to give _The Birds of
America_ free passage to their native land, however, do not appear to
have been successful until two years later, as a letter to be quoted in
due course clearly indicates.
_Edward Everett to Audubon_
CHARLESTOWN, MASS., _May 19th, 1831_.
MY DEAR SIR
I duly received your favor of the 1st. of Nov. accompanied
with some copies of the Prospectus, and a few days since your
letter of the 5th. March reached me. I owe you an apology for
being so tardy in my reply to the former letter. It reached
me at Washington, while I was confined with a severe illness,
with which, since Oct. last, I have till lately been much
afflicted. I was, most of the session, in such a state of
health, as to be kept at my lodgings, and when in my place,
in the House of Representatives, little able to attend to
business. As soon as I went abroad, after the receipt of your
letter, I consulted some of the most influential members of
Congress, as to the probability of being able to pass a bill
for the free introduction of your work. Last winters session
was the short session, terminating by the Constitution on the
3d. of March. At this session, it is always very difficult
to pass any bills, originating during the session. The time
is regularly taken up by bills, prepared the previous winter.
In addition to this circumstance, more than half of the last
session was taken up, by an impeachment before the Senate.
A procedure, which suspended during its continuance, the
legislative business of the two Houses, and left no time for
scarce anything, beyond the annual appropriation bills for
the support of the government. Under these circumstances,
the gentlemen, whom I consulted, were of opinion with me that
it was impossible, for want of time, to pass a bill in your
favor, and that it was therefor better not to attempt it, at
the late session, but to reserve it for next winter, when it
can be brought up seasonably, and with good hope of success.
I shall take great pleasure to seize the first moment, at
the opening of the next session, to bring the subject before
Congress.
The portions of your work, which arrived at Washington before
I left it, were publicly exhibited in the library, and
attracted great attention and unqualified admiration. The
same is true of the copy received by the Boston Athenaeum.
The plates were specially exhibited in the great hall of the
Athenaeum, to the entire satisfaction and delight of those
who saw them.
The copy-right law authorizes any citizen of the U. States to
take out a copy-right of his work, on depositing a _printed
copy_ of the _title page_ in the office of the District Court.
I infer from your letter of the 5th. of March, that you had
sent copies of the printed sheets of your work to Drs. Harlan
and M. Mertrie [McMurtie] of Philadelphia with a view of
having the copy-right.
I have distributed a part of your prospectuses, and shall
do the same with the rest, in the manner that may seem most
likely to promote your interest. I regret to say, that I
have not yet been able to add another, to the list of your
subscribers.
You mention, in each of your letters, the little picture you
were so kind, as to propose sending me. This alone leads me to
say, that whenever it comes to hand, it will be most welcome:
but that, engaged as you are in laboring in the cause of
science and of America, you must not feel obliged to consume
one hour of your precious time at the sacrifice of those
higher objects.
I am happy to be able to say to you, that my health, though
not wholly restored, is greatly improved, and that if you will
continue to favor me with your commands, I will prove myself,
hereafter, a more punctual correspondent.
I look forward with sincere pleasure, to the prospect of
meeting you again, on this side of the Atlantic, and with my
respectful compliments to Mrs. Audubon, I beg leave, dear sir,
to tender you the assurance of my high respects, and with it
my most friendly salutations.
EDWARD EVERETT.
P.S. Since the foregoing was written, I have received your
favor of the 23d. of April. I beg leave particularly to thank
you for your kindness in reference to the picture. I shall
prize it, not merely on account of its scientific value and
beauty as a work of art, (both of which I feel assured it will
be found to possess) but as a token of your friendly regard.
It will give me great pleasure to furnish you any letters in
my power, for your adventurous south western tour. These I
shall have the pleasure of handing you, when we meet this side
the water.
You were elected in November last a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, on the nomination which I had
the honor to submit to that body. Owing to a change in the
secretaryship a delay arose in preparing your diploma, which
will however be forwarded in a few days.
Upon balancing his accounts with _The Birds of America_ at about this
time, Audubon thought it was truly remarkable that $40,000 should have
passed through his hands for the completion of the first volume.
Who would believe that once in London I had only a sovereign
left in my pocket, and did not know to whom to apply for
another, when at the verge of failure; above all, that I
extricated myself from all my difficulties, not by borrowing
money, but by rising at four o'clock in the morning, working
hard all day, and disposing of my works at a price which a
common labourer would have thought little more than sufficient
remuneration for his work? To give you an idea of my actual
difficulties during the publication of my first volume, it
will be sufficient to say, that in the four years required
to bring that volume before the world, no less than fifty of
my subscribers, representing the sum of fifty-six thousand
dollars, abandoned me! And whenever a few withdrew I was
forced to leave London, and go to the provinces, to obtain
others to supply their places, in order to enable me to
raise the money to meet the expenses of engraving, coloring,
paper, printing ...; and that with all my constant exertions,
fatigues, and vexations, I find myself now having but one
hundred and thirty standing names on my list.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Samuel Johnson, _The Rambler_, No. 60.
[2] _Ornithological Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol. iv, p. 222.
[3] Elliott Coues, _Key to North American Birds_, 4th ed., p.
xxi (Boston, 1890).
[4] Audubon, in Audubon County, Iowa, in Beeker County,
Minnesota, and in Wise County, Texas, as well as Audubon,
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in which his old farm,
"Mill Grove," is situated. Audubon Avenue is the first of the
subterranean passages which lead from the entrance of Mammoth
Cave, and is noted for its swarms of bats. Audubon Park, New
York City, between the Hudson River and Broadway and extending
from 156th, to 160th Streets, embraces a part of "Minnie's
Land," the naturalist's old Hudson River estate, but is a
realty designation and is now almost entirely covered with
buildings (see Chapter XXXVI).
[5] The Audubon Monument Committee of the New York Academy of
Sciences was appointed October 3, 1887, and made its final
report in 1893, when this beautiful memorial was formally
dedicated. Subscriptions from all parts of the United States
amounted to $10,525.21. The monument is a Runic cross in
white marble, ornamented with American birds and mammals which
Audubon has depicted, and surmounts a die bearing a portrait
of the naturalist, modeled from Cruikshank's miniature, with
suitable inscriptions, the whole being supported on a base of
granite; the total height is nearly 26 feet, and the weight
2 tons. It was presented to the Corporation of Trinity Parish
by Professor Thomas Eggleston, and received by Rev. Dr. Morgan
Dix. The cemetery has since been cut in two by the extension
of Broadway; the monument is in the northerly section, close
to the parish house of the Chapel of the Intercession.
The monument at New Orleans, mentioned below, was erected
under the auspices of the Audubon Association, at a cost of
$10,000, most of which was secured through the efforts of Mrs.
J. L. Bradford, $1,500 having been contributed by residents
of the Crescent City. The figure is in bronze, and stands on
a high pedestal of Georgia granite.
The beautiful bust of Audubon at the American Museum of
Natural History is by William Couper, of Newark, N. J.
[6] As will later appear, this was in reality the 120th
anniversary.
[7] The first Audubon Society, devoted to the interests of
bird protection, was organized by Dr. George Bird Grinnell,
editor of _Forest and Stream_, in 1886, and 16,000 members
were enrolled during the first year; Dr. Grinnell was also
the father of the _Audubonian Magazine_ (see Bibliography,
No. 190), which made its first appearance in January,
1887; by the middle of that year the membership in the new
society had increased to 38,000, but with the disappearance
of the _Magazine_ in 1889 the movement languished and
came to a speedy end. In 1896 a fresh start was taken by
the inauguration of State societies in Massachusetts and
Pennsylvania, and the movement gathered greater force through
the inauguration in 1899 of the admirably conducted magazine,
_Bird-Lore_, as its official organ. The State societies were
federated in 1902, and the National Committee then created
gave place in 1905 to the National Association. See Gilbert
Trafton, _Bird Friends_, for an excellent summary of the work
of the Audubon Societies, and the "Twelfth Annual Report of
the National Association of Audubon Societies," _Bird-Lore_,
vol. xviii (1916).
[8] In this year Charles Lanman, writer, and at a later time
librarian of the Library of Congress, wrote to Victor Audubon
as follows: "Are not you and your family willing _now_ to
let me write a book about your illustrious father? I feel
confident that I could get up something very interesting and
which would not only help the big work, but make money. I
could have it brought out in handsome style, and should like
to have well engraved a portrait and some half dozen views
in Kentucky, Louisiana, and on the Hudson. Write me what you
think about it." Lanman's letter is dated "Georgetown, D. C.,
Oct. 8, 1856"; on November 1 Victor Audubon replied, declining
the proposal.
[9] Messrs. C. S. Francis & Company, of 554 Broadway, New
York.
[10] The publishers in this instance do not appear to have
been better informed, for the text of the _Quadrupeds_, from
which they quote, was written by John Bachman, and the first
volume of it was issued in London in 1847; see Bibliography,
No. 6.
[11] Rev. Dr. Adams was rector of this parish for twenty-five
years, from 1863 to his death in February, 1888; he was the
author of three volumes on religious subjects and various
smaller tracts; from 1855 to 1863 he had charge of a church in
Baltimore, Maryland, and while there published an anonymous
pamphlet entitled "Slavery by a Marylander; Its Institution
and Origin; Its Status Under the Law and Under the Gospel" (8
pp. 8vo. Baltimore, 1860).
[12] Buchanan said that the manuscript submitted to him was
inordinately long and needed careful revision; he added that
"while he could not fail to express his admiration for the
affectionate spirit and intelligent sympathy with which the
friendly editor discharged his task, he was bound to say
that his literary experience was limited." After copying a
passage from one of Audubon's journals, this editor had the
unfortunate habit of drawing his pen through the original;
in this way hundreds of pages of Audubon's admirable
"copper-plate" were irretrievably defaced.
[13] Robert Buchanan, _The Life of Audubon_ (Bibl. No. 72),
p. vi.
[14] See Harriet Jay, _Robert Buchanan: Some Account of His
Life, His Life's Work, and His Literary Friendships_ (London,
1903). Robert Williams Buchanan was born at Caverswell,
Lancashire, August 18, 1841, and died in London, June 10,
1901.
[15] For similar spelling of the name by John James Audubon,
see Appendix I, Document No. 12.
[16] For notice of these records of Jean Audubon and his
family, see the Preface, and for the most important documents,
Appendix I.
[17] Pierre Audubon's service in the merchant marine of France
is undoubtedly recorded in the archives of the Department of
Marine in Paris, but all researches in that direction were
suddenly halted by the war.
[18] Jean Audubon had a brother Claude, and on February
27, 1791, he wrote to him, asking for 4,000 francs, which
he needed for the purchase of a boat. It was probably this
brother who lived at Bayonne, and left three daughters, Anne,
Dominica, and Catherine Françoise, who married Jean Louis
Lissabé, a pilot (see Vol. I, p. 263). If this inference be
correct, and the sum referred to was demanded in payment of
a debt, it may explain a statement of the naturalist that his
father and his uncle were not on speaking terms.
Another brother is said to have been an active politician
at Nantes, La Rochelle and Paris from 1771 to 1796, when he
dropped out of sight for a number of years. When heard of
again he was living at La Rochelle in affluence and piety.
This was apparently the Audubon to whom the naturalist
referred in certain of his journals and private letters as one
who, possessing the secret of his birth and early life, had
done both him and his father an irreparable injury (see Vol.
I, p. 270).
A sister, Marie Rosa Audubon, was married in 1794 to Pierre de
Vaugeon, a lawyer at Nantes; their only son, Louis Lejeune de
Vaugeon, was living at Nantes as late as 1822, when he deeded
his former home to Henri Boutard. (The substance of this and
the preceding paragraph is based partly upon data furnished
by Miss Maria R. Audubon.)
Jean Audubon gave his daughter, Rosa, the name of her aunt,
but in later life seems to have broken off all relations with
his brothers. Upon his death his will was immediately attacked
by Mme. Lejeune de Vaugeon, of Nantes, and by the three nieces
from Bayonne (see Chapter XVII). The naturalist does not give
the name of the aunt who, as he said, was killed during the
Revolution at Nantes, but I have found no reference to any
other.
[19] This was recalled by the naturalist on March 5, 1827,
when he wrote: "As a lad I had a great aversion to anything
English or Scotch, and I remember when travelling with my
father to Rochefort in January, 1800, I mentioned this to
him.... How well I remember his reply.... 'Thy blood will
cool in time, and thou wilt be surprised to see how gradually
prejudices are obliterated, and friendships acquired, towards
those that we at one time held in contempt. Thou hast not been
in England; I have, and it is a fine country.'" (See Maria R.
Audubon, _Audubon and His Journals_ (Bibl. No. 86), vol. i,
p. 216).
[20] In 1789 over 7,000,000 pounds of cotton and 758,628
pounds of indigo were exported from the French side of
the island, while further products of that year, including
smaller amounts of cocoa, molasses, rum, hides, dye-woods,
and tortoise shell, swelled the grand total of exports to
205,000,000 livres or francs. Bryan Edwards, however, whose
deductions were based on official returns, placed the average
value of all exports from French Santo Domingo for the years
1787, 1788, and 1789, at 171,544,000 livres in Hispaniola
currency, or £4,765,129 sterling; this would be equivalent to
about $23,158,426, and imply a purchase value of the French
livre or franc of about 13½ cents in American money.
The number of plantations of every kind in the French colony
was estimated by Edwards in 1790, at the outbreak of the
Revolution, at 8,536; there were over 800 sugar plantations,
over 3,000 coffee estates, to mention two such resources.
If to these items we add nearly half a million slaves, the
total valuation of the movable and fixed property of the
French planters and merchants of this period would reach
1,557,870,000 francs. In 1788, 98 slave ships entered the six
principal ports on the French side, and landed 29,506 negroes;
Les Cayes received 19 of these ships, which delivered at that
port 4,590 blacks. These slaves were sold for 61,936,190
livres, or at the rate of 2,008.37 livres each; according
to Edwards this was equivalent to £60 sterling, or to about
$291.60 in American money, at the rate of 14½ cents to the
livre or franc. See particularly Francis Alexander Stanilaus,
Baron de Wimpffen, _A Voyage to Santo Domingo in the Years
1788, 1789, and 1790_, translated by J. Wright (London, 1817);
and also Bryan Edwards, _An Historical Survey of the French
Colony in the Island of San Domingo_ (London, 1797).
[21] As signed by herself, but variously spelled "Moinet,"
or "Moynette" in family documents of the period. On August
28, four days after their marriage, they drew up and signed
a mutual contract regarding the disposition of their property
in case children should be born to them.
[22] The destruction of _Le Comte d'Artois_ is noticed in a
document bearing date of January 19, 1782; the name of the
town only is given, but it is probable that it refers to the
United States.
[23] For repeated reference to this unsettled claim, see his
letter of 1805 to Francis Dacosta (Chapter VIII), where the
name is written "Formont."
The bill of sale of _Le Comte d'Artois_ was drawn on February
21, 1779, when Jean Audubon appeared "before the notaries
of the king in the seneschal's court of Saint Louis," and
was described as "resident at Les Cayes, opposite the Isle à
Vaches." The document, which in my copy is incomplete, reads
in part as follows:
"The present M. Jean Audubon, captain-commander of the ship
_Le Comte d'Artois_, of Nantes, armed for war and now laden
with merchandise, anchored in this roadstead of Les Cayes,
dispatched, and at the point of departure for France; armed
by the Messrs. Coirond Brothers, merchants at the said city
of Nantes, acting in his own name as one interested in the
armament and cargo of the vessel, as well as in his capacity
as captain; [he] acting as much also for the said furnishers
of arms as for the others interested in the said armaments,
and the merchandise, which will be hereafter mentioned,
in consideration of the rights of each, promises to have
these presents accepted and approved in due time; which said
person, appearing in said names, in the quality aforesaid,
by these presents has sold, ceded, given up, transferred,
and relinquished all his legal rights in the aforesaid ship,
to the business-associates Lacroix, Formon de Boisclair &
Jacques, three merchants in partnership, living in this town,
purchasers conjointly and severally, for themselves and the
assigns of each, to the extent of one third; To wit: the
said ship _Le Comte d'Artois_, of the said port of Nantes,
of about two hundred and fifty tons, at present anchored in
this roadstead of Les Cayes, dispatched, and at the point
of departure for France, with all its rigging, outfit, and
dependences, which consist among other things of two sets of
sail, complete, and newly fitted out, all the tools, and the
reserve sets of these, with the munitions of war, consisting
of ten cannon, four of them mounted on gun carriages, and all
that goes with them...." (Translated from the French original
in possession of Monsieur Lavigne.)
[24] The fact that Captain Audubon did not accompany
Rochambeau's fleet which assembled at Brest in April, 1780,
and reached Newport in mid-July, may account for the omission
of his name from the lists that have been recently published.
See _Les Combattants François de la Guerre Américaine_,
1778-1783 (Paris, 1903).
[25] Others interested in this vessel were Messrs. David
Ross & Company, with whom Captain Audubon later had financial
difficulties (see Chapter VIII).
[26] See letter to Dacosta, Vol. I, p. 121.
[27] The proper name of this seaport town, as given by all
French cartographers and writers, is _Les Cayes_, meaning "the
cays" or "keys" (small islands, Spanish _cayos_); omitting the
article it is often simply written "Cayes." French residents
on the island, however, when dating or addressing a letter
or receipting a bill would naturally write "_aux Cayes_,"
meaning of course "at The Cays," where the document was signed
or where the person to whom the letter was addressed resided
(see the Sanson bill, and bills of sale of negroes, Appendix
I, Documents Nos. 1, 4, 5, and 6). It was thus an easy step
for Englishmen, in ignorance or disregard of the French usage,
to call the town "Aux Cayes"; even as early as 1797, Bryan
Edwards, though giving the name correctly on his map, which
doubtless had a French source, wrote "Aux Cayes" in his text;
the corruption has survived, and is occasionally found in
standard works, but is too egregious to be tolerated.
[28] And sometime as _marchand_, more strictly a retailer.
[29] Since a colonist's wealth was estimated upon the number
of slaves he could afford, and since a slave was regarded as
equivalent to a return of 1,500 francs a year, Jean Audubon's
income on this basis would have been 63,000 francs.
[30] See Sir Spencer St. John, _Hayti, or the Black Republic_,
2d ed. (New York, 1889).
[31] Bryan Edwards, Esq., M.P., F.R.S., &c., _An Historical
Survey of the French Colony in the Island of San Domingo_
(London, 1797).
[32] See Note, Vol. I, p. 31.
[33] The Superior Council, sitting at Port-au-Prince, in
1780 fixed the tax for the parish of Les Cayes at the rate
of 2 francs, 10 centimes per head, which in this instance was
certainly trifling. (Note furnished by M. L. Lavigne.)
[34] Baron de Wimpffen sailed from Port-au-Prince for Norfolk,
Virginia, in July, 1790, about a year after Jean Audubon had
left the island.
[35] This was one of the commonest names among the French
Creoles of Santo Domingo, and was possibly assumed, though
the evidence is inconclusive. See Vol. I, p. 61.
[36] For photographic reproduction see p. 54; and for
transliteration and translation, Appendix I, Documents Nos.
1 and 1a; for "Fougère" see Appendix I, Documents Nos. 2 and
3; and for "Jean Rabin," Documents Nos. 14, 16, 17 and 18.
[37] The word "_Joue_," which occurs eleven times in
this document—as "mulatto Joue," "Joue mulatto," "negro
bossal named Joue," and "little negro Joue"—suggests the
English equivalent "Cheek," but no such usage appears to be
authorized. It is evidently a proper name, and is more likely
to prove the French rendering of a word common to one of
the negro dialects of the island. On the other hand it might
represent a corrupted pet name, like "_joujou_" or "_bijou_,"
bestowed by the French Creoles of Santo Domingo upon their
favorite _négrillons_ or _petits nègres_, which played a
more or less ornamental _rôle_ in many households, whether
as footmen or servants. In any case the use of this word is
doubtless purely local.
[38] See Vol. I, p. 46.
[39] It was stated in the act of adoption, which was drawn
up in March, 1794, that Audubon's mother had then been dead
"about eight years," and the testimony of the Sanson bill
shows that she was alive as late as October, 1785.
[40] The following letter of inquiry concerning Louise was
written by Rosa's husband when Jean Audubon's will was being
attacked in the courts at Nantes. It is dated at Couëron, June
26, 1819, and is addressed to "Monsieur Carpentier Chessé,
engraver, place Royale, Nantes:"
"Following the friendly offer that you made me, I have the
honor of asking you to undertake, at your next visit to La
Rochelle, the following inquiries:
"1. There should be at La Rochelle (it is thought at the home
of the widow Scipiot) a Miss Louise Bouffard, born at Les
Cayes, Santo Domingo, in America.
"What is her position? What is she doing? What is her conduct?
In short I should like to know absolutely all about her, being
charged by the Madame, her mother, to make all inquiries."
(Translated from original in French, Lavigne MSS.)
[41] A principal street in the old quarters of Nantes, leading
from the Place Royale to Place Graslin. Jean Audubon named
this street as his place of residence in 1792, when he was
living in a house belonging to Citizen Carricoule. He made his
home also at No. 39, rue Rubens, a short street, with many of
its houses still intact, in the same quarter; this was rented
of Françoise Mocquard for five years, beginning June 24, 1799
(_le 6 Messidor, an 7_), at four hundred francs per annum. He
also dwelt at various times at No. 5, rue de Gigant, and in
the rue des Carmes, where his wife possessed a house, as well
as in the rue des Fontenelles and the rue Saint-Leonard. Very
likely "La Gerbetière" at Couëron was occupied intermittently,
especially in summer, after the outbreak of the Revolution
and his reverses in fortune; even after his retirement there
in 1801, he still kept a lodging (_pied-à-terre_) at Nantes,
where, as it chanced, he died, though it was not his usual
stopping-place. See Note, Vol. I, p. 86.
[42] See Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and His Journals_ (Bibl.
No. 86), vol. i, p. 8.
[43] For the original text of this act, here given in
translation, see Appendix I, Document No. 2.
[44] Research at Nantes in 1915 revealed that the baptismal
records of the parish of Saint-Similien were wanting for
the period from 1792 to 1803, so it is probable that they
were destroyed in the Revolution. The municipal archives of
Nantes possess a book of baptismal records of the city without
distinction of parishes, but this shows the names of neither
"Fougère," "Rabin," nor "Audubon," for the year in question.
The Abbè Tardiveau was _un prêtre assermenté_, or one of
those priests who had sworn in 1790 to recognize the civil
constitution of the clergy.
For copy of the act of baptism in the French original, see
Appendix I, Document No. 3. It is impossible to say whether
the heading as given in my copy of this act was in the
original or not.
[45] An English writer once gave the name of Audubon's mother
as Mlle. La Forêt.
[46] Audubon's signature underwent frequent variations during
the first twenty-five years of his life, but after 1820
he almost invariably signed himself "John J.," or "J. J.
Audubon." In the record of the civil marriage of his sister,
at Couëron in 1805, his name appears as "J. J. L. Audubon;" in
the "Articles of Association" with Ferdinand Rozier, signed at
Nantes in 1806, it is "Jean Audubon," and in the release given
on the dissolution of this partnership, at Ste. Geneviève, in
1811, the English form, "John Audubon," appears.
[47] This statement was made to me by Miss Maria R. Audubon
in 1914.
[48] For full text of the six wills drawn at different times
by Jean Audubon and his wife see Appendix I, Documents Nos.
13-18.
[49] See Chapter XVII.
[50] This unique document reads as follows:
"To all to whom these presents may come: know ye that I, John
Audubon, having special trust and confidence in my friend,
G. Loyen Du Puigaudeau, of the Department of Loire and
[_sic_] Inférieure, and Parish of Couëron, near Nantes, in
the kingdom of France, [do constitute him] my true and lawful
attorney, and the true and lawful attorney in fact of Jean
Rabin, husband of Lucy Bakewell, of the County of Henderson
and State of Kentucky, in the United States of America, for
us [?], the said Jean Rabin, and in our name to our use and
benefit, to ask, demand, sue for, recover, and receive all
and every part of the Real and Personal Estate, that is to
say Lands, Tenements, Grounds, Chattels, and credits, which I
have, or either of us, in the Department of Loire and [_sic_]
Inferieure in the kingdom of France, aforesaid, and to make
sale of the same, either at auction, or by contract of the
said Lands and Tenements, Goods, Chattells, and Credits, to
receive the money arising from said sale, to give any Receipt,
acquittance, or other discharge for the said money or any part
thereof, if money or specie shall be received, or for any
property he may receive in exchange or barter for said Real
and personal Estate, and our said attorney, or the attorney
of Jean Rabin aforesaid, is hereby authorized and empowered
to make, give, execute, and deliver any Deed, Covenant, or
transfer of said Real and Personal Estate to the purchaser of
all or any part thereof for us, or for the said Jean Rabin,
in as full and ample a manner as he, the said Jean, could do,
was he personally present in said Department, in the Kingdom.
In testimony whereof the said John Audubon has hereunto set
his hand and affixed his seal the Twenty Sixth day of July,
Anno Domini One thousand & Eight hundred and Seventeen.
JOHN J. AUDUBON [Seal within]
On the back of the preceding is the notary's certificate that
Jean Audubon appeared before him; seal affixed, and dated July
26, 1817.
Signed, "A[MBROZE] BARBAND,
Notary of Henderson County, Kentucky."
[51] See Chapter XVI.
[52] Vol. i, p. v; see Bibliography, No. 2.
[53] Published by Maria R. Audubon (Bibl. No. 78) in
_Scribner's Magazine_, vol. xiii (1893).
[54] Whether Jean Audubon had other sons born in Santo Domingo
is not recorded, and this reference of the naturalist, which
was repeated in his later sketch, cannot be verified.
[55] See Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and His Journals_, (Bibl.
No. 86), vol. i, p. 7.
[56] See Note, Vol. I, p. 38.
[57] See J. W. Crozart, "Bibliographical and Genealogical
Notes Concerning the Family of Philippe de Mandeville, Ecuyer
Sieur de Marigny, 1709-1800," _Louisiana Historical Society
Publications_, vol. v (New Orleans, 1911). The portrait
referred to below now hangs in the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial
College, New Orleans.
[58] Gordon Bakewell (Bibl. No. 90), _ibid._, p. 31.
[59] See _Laws of the United States, Treaties, Regulations,
and Other Documents Respecting the Public Lands_, vol. i, p.
301 (Washington, 1836). In Number 756, entitled "An Act for
the Relief of Bernard Marigny, of the State of Louisiana,"
Marigny is mentioned as assignee of Antonio Bonnabel, and
his claim, which was confirmed, is described as follows: a
tract of land of 4,020 superficial arpents, in the State of
Louisiana, parish of St. Tammany, "bounded on the southwest
by Lake Ponchartrain, and on the northwest by lands formerly
owned by the heirs of Lewis Davis."
I am informed by Mr. Gaspar Cusachs, president of the
Historical Society of Louisiana, who has carefully
investigated the titles of this property and to whom I am
indebted for much information concerning it and its owners,
that the tract described above included the estate of
"Fontainebleau." Marigny's claim included also a smaller tract
of 774 arpents in the same parish. This land was bounded on
the southwest by Lake Ponchartrain, on the north by Castin
Bayou, and on the south by the tract acquired from Bonnabel;
it was granted to the heirs of Lewis Davis in 1777, and
certain of them filed a claim for it in 1812.
[60] One period of this service bears date of May 31.
[61] See Note, Vol. I, p. 27.
[62] The mayor, Saget, at the moment he was crossing the Place
Egalité (the Place Royale of today) received point-blank a
ball in his right thigh and another in his left leg, and lost
both limbs.
[63] For the revolutionary history of Nantes I am chiefly
indebted to M. A. Guépin's excellent _Histoire de Nantes_,
2d ed. (Nantes, 1839); Hipp. Etiennez, _Guide du Voyageur à
Nantes, et aux Environs_ (Nantes, 1861); A. Lescadien et Aug.
Laurent, _Histoire de la Ville de Nantes_, t.2 (Nantes, 1836);
F. J. Verger, _Archives curieuses de la Ville de Nantes et
des Départments de l'Ouest_, t. 5 (Nantes, 1837-41); and to
a scholarly monograph by Dugast-Matifeux, entitled _Carrier à
Nantes: Précis de la Conduite patriotique et révolutionnaire
des citoyens de Nantes_ (Nantes, 1885).
[64] The unpublished documents of this Department are
preserved in the archives of the Préfecture at Nantes,
and through the courtesy of their custodians I was enabled
to examine them freely. These documents deal with all the
revolutionary changes in church and state consequent upon the
breaking down of the old _régime_, and with the enrollment
of volunteers and the dispatch of armed forces to centers of
disturbance throughout that district. The present manuscripts
are said to represent but a fraction of those which originally
existed, the archives having been subjected to repeated
raids, thefts, and wanton destruction by fire and other
means. The most important have been listed and published by
the Government in summary form under the title, _Les Archives
du Département de la Loire Inférieure, 1790-1799_, Série L.
(Nantes, 1909).
[65] During the Revolution Jean Audubon always added to his
signature the cabalistic sign of three dots between parallel
lines, which possibly stood for the three watchwords of the
Republic—"_Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité_."
[66] In the published orders and correspondence of the
royalist General Boulart the following letter, given here
in translation, is addressed to Citizen Audubon: "I give you
notice, Citizen, that my aide-de-camp will arrive immediately
from Niort. I beg you to do all in your power to come this
evening to confer with me, since I have something to ask
you of the utmost importance. I also inform you that there
has arrived at Les Sables Citizen Anguis, the people's
representative. Perhaps it would be more advantageous that
you should see him this evening, and that tomorrow early we
attempt to bring all three together. You could depart in the
morning for Nantes." [Signed] "THE GENERAL BOULART." Jean
Audubon filed this letter from the enemy with his Department,
but his answer is not given. See Ch. L. Chassin, _Etudes
Documentaires sur La Révolution Française: La Vendée Patriote,
1793-1800_, vol. ii, p. 306, t. 1-4 (Paris, 1894-1895).
[67] _Délibérations-Arrêtés de Directoire du Département._ In
MSS. pp. 107-108.
[68] Jean was actually in command of this war vessel in March
of that year, as shown by a document given in full in Chapter
IV (p. 59).
[69] These records are on file in the archives of the
Department of Marine at Paris, but access to them will
doubtless be denied until peace is restored in Europe.
[70] M. L. Lavigne writes that he possesses a copy of a letter
addressed by M. G. L. du Puigaudeau to a lawyer in Paris, in
which it is stated that Lieutenant Audubon's losses amounted
to 1,500,000 francs. After making due allowance for the
psychological tendency to overestimate losses, especially when
sustained in remote and romantic lands, the true amount was
no doubt large.
[71] Or "lieutenant of a frigate," and corresponding to "mate"
in the merchant marine.
[72] The certificate which Lieutenant Audubon received at
the time of his discharge is preserved among the Lavigne
manuscripts and documents at Couëron, and is headed:
[Sidenote: PORT DE ROCHEFORT.]
ETAT des Services du Citoyen _Jean Audubon_ natif des Sables
d'Ollonne Département de La Vendée âgé de 58 ans.
It is signed by the Chief of Administration, Daniel, the Naval
Commander-in-Chief of the District, Martin, and by the naval
commissioner and clerk, February 26, 1801 (_le sept Ventose,
an 9 de la République_).
[73] Jean Audubon was 11 years, 6 months and 25 days in
the service of the merchant marine of France (_service au
commerce_), in the course of which he rose to the rank
of captain of the first grade in 1774. He served in the
French navy (_service à l'état_) 8 years, 2 months and 17
days, ranking successively as sailor, ensign-commander, and
lieutenant-commander (_lieutenant de vaisseau_); 8 months and
22 days of this period (1768-1769) were in intervals of peace,
and 7 years, 5 months and 25 days (1793-1801), in times of
war. Any conflict which may seem to occur in titles must be
attributed to this double service.
[74] This property was evidently encumbered to a considerable
extent, for he repeatedly filed with the Department letters
for the removal of restrictions placed upon it (_lettres pour
obtenir la main levée_). I cannot give the dates of these
letters, but believe that they were drawn in 1801 or shortly
after.
[75] This house was rented at the time to Françoise Mocquard
(see Note, Vol. I, p. 57), but it is probable that
Lieutenant Audubon had reserved rooms which were occupied
during his visits to the city while his permanent home was at
Couëron. In the power of attorney issued by Jean Audubon, his
wife, and Claude François Rozier, at Nantes, April 4, 1806,
the senior Audubon gave his residence as "rue Rubens, No. 39."
[76] Presumably a widow of one of the Coyrons (or Coironds),
merchants at Nantes, whose business interests in Santo Domingo
were entrusted to Jean Audubon's hands in 1783 (see Chapter
III, p. 38).
[77] The following extract from the registry of deaths at
Nantes, which is here given in translation, indicates that
Lieutenant Audubon passed away suddenly, since his death did
not occur in his own apartments (for original see Appendix I,
Document No. 19):
"In the year 1818, on the 19th day of February, at eleven
o'clock in the morning, in the presence of the undersigned,
deputies and officers of the civil service, delegates of
Monsieur the Mayor of Nantes, have appeared the Messrs.
Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau, gentleman of leisure, son-in-law
of the deceased, residing hereafter at Couëron, and Francis
Guillet, grocer, living on the Quai de la Fosse, of legal age,
who have certified in our presence that on this day, at six
o'clock in the morning, Jean Audubon, retired ship-captain,
pensioner of the State, born at Les Sables d'Olonne,
department of La Vendée, husband of Anne Moinet, died in the
house of Mlle. Berthier, in the Chaussée de le Madeleine, No.
24, 4th Canton.
"The witnesses have signed with us the present act, after it
was read to them. The deceased was 74 years of age."
{ GABRIEL LOYEN DU PUIGAUDEAU,
"Signed in the register:-{ GUILLET, and JOSEPH DE LA
{ TULLAYE, deputy
The Audubons and Du Puigaudeaus were probably buried in one
of the large cemeteries at Nantes, since no trace of their
graves has been found at Couëron by M. Lavigne.
[78] Audubon said that he was at the time fourteen years
old, which could not have been the case, but when writing in
1835 he placed this experience at shortly before his return
to America, which would have been in the winter of 1805-6;
"I underwent," to quote this later account, "a mockery of an
examination, and was received as a midshipman in the navy,
went to Rochefort, was placed on board a man-of-war, and ran a
short cruise. On my return, my father had in some way obtained
passports for Rozier and me, and we sailed for New York."
[79] Audubon, writing in 1820, described himself at this time
as "a young man of seventeen, sent to America to make money
(for such was my father's wish), brought up in France in
easy circumstances;" but in the same journal he said that he
did not reach Philadelphia until three months after landing,
and that "shortly after" his arrival at "Mill Grove" the
Bakewell family moved to "Fatland Ford." Mr. G. W. Bakewell,
the historian of his family, states that in the spring of
1804, William Bakewell, Audubon's future father-in-law, with
his son, Thomas, traveled through Pennsylvania, Virginia and
Maryland in search of a farm; they purchased "Fatland Ford,"
which was then the property of James Vaux. Audubon's account
of the Pewee (_Ornithological Biography_, vol. ii, p. 124)
shows that he was at "Mill Grove" before April 10, when "the
ground was still partially covered with snow, and the air
retained the piercing chill of winter." If these various
statements are correct, they would indicate that Audubon left
Nantes about the middle of November, 1803, and that he finally
reached "Mill Grove" not far from the end of March, 1804.
On the other hand, Mr. W. H. Wetherill, the present owner of
"Mill Grove," informs me that his records indicate that the
Bakewells occupied "Fatland Ford" in January, 1804. If this
were the case, young Audubon could not have left France later
than August, 1803. Too much weight, however, should not be
attached to such references of a biographical character in
Audubon's own writings; for in the account referred to above
Audubon said that after his first visit to the United States
he remained two years in France and returned to America "early
in August;" while we know that his sojourn in France lasted
but little more than a year and that he landed in New York on
the 28th of May.
[80] A plague of genuine yellow fever had visited New York in
1795, but in 1804 and 1805 the city suffered from a malignant
fever of another type, and to such an extent that 27,000
persons, or one-third of the entire population, are said to
have fled to escape the pestilence. This was possibly the
malady which seized young Audubon not far from the beginning
of the former year.
[81] The rough draft of a letter in English, evidently written
by Lieutenant Audubon to be delivered by his son to the ship's
captain, and probably in duplicate to his agent, Miers Fisher,
but bearing no name or date, (Lavigne MSS.)
[82] See Note, Vol. I, p. 98.
[83] The yearly rent of "Mill Grove" in 1804, according to
the accounts of Francis Dacosta, who had then acquired a half
interest in it, amounted to $353.34.
[84] "Mill Grove" farm is in Montgomery County, twenty-four
miles northwest of Philadelphia, in the town known, after
1823, as Shannonville, but in 1899 rechristened "Audubon;"
Norristown is five miles to the east.
[85] Mr. William H. Wetherill of Philadelphia, whose
hospitality I have enjoyed and to whom I am indebted for many
interesting facts and records pertaining to "Mill Grove."
Samuel Wetherill, Mr. W. H. Wetherill's grandfather, was one
of the first to bring "black rock," or coal, from Reading to
Philadelphia. Samuel Wetherill, Junior, who is said to have
started the first woolen mill in the country and to have
produced the first white lead made in the United States,
purchased "Mill Grove" for the sake of its minerals in 1813,
the war having put a stop to all importations from England at
that time. He actually succeeded in extracting several hundred
tons of lead from the "Mill Grove" mines, doing better, it
is thought, than any who preceded or followed him. Samuel
Wetherill, Junior, died in 1829, and was succeeded in the
lead and drugs industry by his four sons, of whom Samuel Price
Wetherill became the owner of "Mill Grove" in 1833. The farm
remained in the hands of the Wetherill family until 1876,
and returned to them again, when the present owner came into
possession, in 1892.
[86] In 1761 James Morgan, the first miller and builder,
conveyed one-half of the mill site of five acres to Roland
Evans, who came into possession of the other half, with the
adjoining farm, in 1771; the property was sold to Governor
John Penn in 1776; it passed to Samuel C. Morris in 1784, and
to the Prevosts in 1786.
[87] The lease, which was drawn up in English, April 10,
1789, reads in part as follows: "This indenture, made on the
tenth Day of April in the Year of our Lord, One thousand Seven
hundred & Eighty nine, Between John Audubon, of the Island of
St. Domingo, Gentleman, now being in the City of Philadelphia,
of the one party, and Augustine Prevost...." The lease
included the messuages, grist mills, saw mills, plantation and
tract of land, which is described, tools, implements, stock,
and furniture of the mills and farm, and was drawn for one
year; it was signed in the presence of Miers Fisher, agent
and attorney for Jean Audubon.
In the inventory were included one windmill, one pair of
scales, with weights of 56, 28 and 7 pounds, "skreen," four
bolting cloths, two hoisting tubs, and one large screw and
circle for raising the millstones. This lease was renewed
in October, 1790, when Jean Audubon, who was then living at
Nantes, agreed to keep the house in good repair from that time
onward. It was the Prevost mortgage that Miers Fisher paid but
forgot to cancel (see Vol. I, p. 122); it was finally cleared
up by Dacosta in October, 1806.
Miers Fisher's Philadelphia residence, called "Ury," which
Audubon often visited, was near Fox Chase, now in the
Twenty-third Ward. See Witmer Stone, _Cassinia_, No. xvii
(Philadelphia, 1913).
[88] For a photograph of this portrait of Lieutenant Audubon
here reproduced, I am indebted to Miss Maria R. Audubon; the
originals of both portraits are now in possession of Audubon's
granddaughter, Mrs. Morris F. Tyler.
[89] See Note, Vol. I, p. 99.
[90] For this and the preceding quotation, see Maria R.
Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_ (Bibl. No. 86), vol. i,
pp. 18 and 27.
[91] In Dacosta's final statement of his account, which
was disputed, carried into court, and eventually settled by
arbitration at Philadelphia, on August 1, 1807, these items
occur: "Omitted, $300.00, paid by Francis Dacosta to Miers
Fisher, on May 24, 1803;" and "Ditto $176.67, the proportion
of Francis Dacosta in the rent of the first year, which has
not been paid to him." (See Appendix I, Document 11a; MSS. in
possession of Mr. Welton A. Rosier.)
It seems probable that Dacosta was sent to this country by
Lieutenant Audubon to act as his agent for the disposition of
"Mill Grove," and to succeed Miers Fisher in the conduct of
his business affairs. Interest in the neglected and forgotten
mine may have diverted them from their original plans.
[92] The following notice, copied from _Relf's Gazette_,
appeared in the _New York Herald_ for Saturday, November 17,
1804:
"The lead mine discovered on Perkiomen creek, in Montgomery
county, Pennsylvania, the property of Francis Dacosta, has
been lately opened, and attended with great success. The
vein proves to be a regular one, and of long continuance. Its
course is N.N.E.; its direction is nearly perpendicular, and
its thickness from one foot to 15 inches. Two tons of that
beautiful ore were raised in a few hours, and one ton more
at least was left in the bottom on the pit, which is yet but
nine feet deep. From the situation of this mine, its nearness
to navigation and market, its very commanding height, its
richness in metal, and the large scale it forms on; it is
thought by judges to be one of the first discoveries yet made
in the U. S.
"From the analysis made of 100 parts, it contains:
Oxyd of lead 85
Oxyd of iron 1
Sulphuric acid 13
Water 1
——
100
"The lead being coupelled, has proved to contain 2½ oz. fine
silver to 100, which is nearly 3 dollars worth of that metal."
[93] For the sum of 31,000 francs, or $6,200, a slight advance
on the cost to Jean Audubon, when he had taken over the farm
fifteen years before (see Vol. I, p. 105).
[94] The following item appears in Dacosta's final account:
"To compensation claimed by Francis Dacosta for making up
half of his expenses, in managing the mining works, the
mill-repairs, and taking up the formation of a company during
two years of constant cares, troubles, and loss of time,
at 300 dollars a year—$600.00." (From statement of disputed
claim; see Note, Vol. I, p. 168.)
[95] For copies of a part of the Audubon-Dacosta
correspondence, which is perhaps half of what exists but all
that it was possible to obtain, I am indebted to Monsieur
Lavigne. The first letter, the present copy of which is
incomplete, was evidently written in the winter of 1804-5.
Lieutenant Audubon, who at this time was sixty-one years
old, was living at Couëron, but came to Nantes to conduct his
correspondence. All the letters were carefully transcribed in
a separate copybook, and are here translated as literally as
possible from the French.
[96] That is, after having become a part owner of the "Mill
Grove" property.
[97] That is, at Couëron.
[98] This name appears as "Rost" in all the letters.
[99] Member of the firm of Audubon, Lacroix, Formon & Jacques,
engaged in the Santo Domingo trade (see Chapter II, p. 33).
In these letters the name usually appears as "Formont."
[100] Vessels in which Jean Audubon was personally interested,
and upon which he endeavored in vain to collect the money
and interest due him (see Vol. I, p. 34). In a document in
English, dated [Les Cayes] April 9, 1782, concerning the
_Annette_, of which Jean Audubon was captain and part owner,
and signed by him and David Ross & Company, it is stated this
vessel was bound for Nantes with a cargo of tobacco, in the
purchase and sale of which Captain Audubon was under orders
of Mr. Ezekiel Edwards of Nantes.
[101] This was probably the mortgage which Jean Audubon gave
to Prevost when "Mill Grove" was purchased in 1789, for in
Dacosta's final account for 1806-1807 this item occurs under
October 15, 1806: "To the recorder in Norristown for entering
satisfaction of John Audubon mortgage to John Augustin Prevost
... $2.83."
[102] The principal house at "Mill Grove," which Dacosta was
preparing to occupy.
[103] Owing to the delay in receiving his legal papers from
France, Dacosta had threatened to carry his case to the
courts, and had stopped work at the mine.
[104] In the light of the preceding letters, Dacosta would
appear in these respects to have been only attempting to carry
out his instructions.
[105] Probably Sarah White Palmer, Benjamin Bakewell's
sister-in-law, and widow of the Rev. John Palmer, who at one
time was associated with Joseph Priestley in editing the
_Theological Repository_, an organ of the Unitarians. Her
son-in-law, Thomas W. Pears, was later a partner in Audubon's
business ventures at Henderson, Kentucky. Her grave is in the
Bakewell burying plot at "Fatland Ford."
[106] See Appendix I, Document No. 7.
[107] Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_ (Bibl. No.
86), vol. i, p. 39.