John James Audubon

usiness. This he accordingly set out to do by entering as a clerk the commercial house of Be

did not return one fifth of the cost. Audubon's want of business habits is shown by the statement that at this time he one day posted a letter containing eight thousand dollars without sealing it. His heart was in

ier soon returned to Mill Grove. During some of their commercial enterprises they had visited

ntucky. The day after the marriage, Audubon and his wife and Mr. Rozier started on their journey. In crossing the mountains to Pittsburg the coach in which they were travelling upset, and Mrs. Audubon was severely bruised. Fr

ounter, and, Audubon says, grew rich, but he himself spent most of the time in the woods or hunting with the planters settled about Louisville, between whom and himself a warm attachment soon

s he enjoyed was the ever engaging journeys which he

ucky, and Pennsylvania," and on one occasion he says he lost sight of the pack h

requested my patronage. I felt surprised and gratified at the sight of his volumes, turned over a few of the plates, and had already taken my pen to write my name in his favour, when my partner rather abruptly said to me in French: 'My dear Audubon, what induces you to subscribe to this work! Your drawings are certainly far better; and again, you must know as much of the habits of American birds as this gentleman.' Whether Mr. Wilson understood French or not, or if the suddenness with which I paused disappointed him, I cannot tell; but I clearly perceived he was not pleased. Vanity, and the encomiums of my friend, prevented me from subscribing. Mr. Wilson asked me if I had many drawings of birds, I rose, took down a large portfolio, laid it on the table, and showed him as I would show you, kind reader, or any other person fond of such subjects, the whole of the contents, with the same patience, with which he had showed me his own engravings. His surprise appeared great, as he told me he had never had the most distant idea that any other individual than himself had been engaged in forming such a collection. He aske

before seen; but, reader, I did not subscribe to his work,

uld be mentioned in his work as coming from my pencil. I at the same time offered to open a correspondence with him, which I thought might prove beneficial to us both. He made no reply to either

ory. Under date of March 19, he writes in his diary at Louisville: "Rambled around the town with my gun.

shooting with Mr. A. Saw a number o

pable inconsistency, not to say falsehood, that he did not receive one act of c

d found him drawing a white headed eagle. He was civil, and sho

us of his superior talents; for superior they were in many ways. Audubon's drawings have far more spirit and artistic excellence, and his te

out the riches Rozier had acquired), and resolved upon moving their goods to Hendersonville, Kentucky, over one hundred miles furthe

were in demand. To procure food the merchants had to resort to fishing and hunting. They employed a cle

hundred barrels of whiskey, sundry dry goods and powder, on board a keel boat making their way down the Ohio, in a severe snow storm, toward St. Geneviève, a settlement on the Mississippi River, where they proposed to try again. The boat is

her baby, or babies, was left behind at Hendersonville with a f

elays, and adventures with the ice and t

ut Audubon soon became discouraged with the place and longed to be back in Hendersonville with his family. He did not like the low bred French-Canadians, who made up most of the population of the settlement. He sold

ns who lived in a cabin on the prairies, where the traveller put up for the nig

saw the woman sharpen a huge carving knife, and thrust it into the hand of her drunken son, with the injunction to kill yon stranger and secure the watch. He was just on the point of springing up to shoot his would-be murderers, when the door burst open, and two travellers, each with a long knife, appeared. Audubon jumped up and told them his situation. The drunken sons and t

ay well be taken with a grain of allowance. Did remote prairie cabins in those days have grind

earthquake which visited that part of Kentucky the following November,

alking the one hundred and sixty-five miles, much of the time nearly ankle-deep in mud and water, in a little over three days. Concerning the accuracy of this statement one also h

ime prospered. Some years previously he had formed a co-partnership with his wife's brother, and a commercial house in ch

uades Audubon to erect, at a heavy outlay, a steam grist and saw m

How I laboured at this infernal mill, fro

is date till 1819, Audubon's pecuniary difficulties increased daily. He had no business talent whatever; he was a poet and a

hmond, Virginia; but Audubon was so dilatory in proving his identity and his legal right to this cash, that the merchant finally