John James Audubon

very particle of property I had to my creditors, keeping only the clothes I wore on that day, m

o often crossed my path, and the thousands of lesser birds that enlivened the woods and the prairies, all l

spurred him to action. He was a good draughtsman, he had b

the low price of five dollars per head, in black chalk. I drew a few gratis, a

nsiderable distance to have the portrait of his mother taken while she was on the eve of death, an

continued and, he says, became at times almost a mania with him; he would frequently give up a head, the profits of wh

hout these resources, he says, he would have been upon the starving list. But food was plentiful and cheap. He writes in his journal: "Our living here is extremely moderate; the markets are well supplied and cheap, beef only two and one hal

of having his bird drawings published, after he shall have further a

e Crescent City till midwinter. Again he found himself destitute of means, and compelled to resort to portrait painting.

publication of Wilson's "Ornithology," and

He wrote to President Monroe upon the subject, but the appointment never came to him. In March he called upon Vanderlyn, the historical painter, and took with him a portfolio of his drawings in hopes of gettin

of the expedition to Mexico just referred to, and wanted to make a good impression upon Vanderlyn and the officer. This he su

er drawing during the summer, at sixty dollars per month, leaving him half of each day to follow his own pursuits. He continued in this position till October when he took steamer for New Orleans

y-two drawings of birds and plants, three quadrupeds, two snakes, fifty portraits of all sorts, and had lived by his talents, not having had a dollar when he started.

aits, giving lessons, painting birds, and wandering about the country, began again. His earnings provin

s again, and to try his fortunes elsewhere. He paid all his bills and took steamer fo

rtraits were sorely damaged by the breaking of a bottle of

l drawings in a wooden box and had left them in charge of a friend. On his return, several months later, he pathetically recounts what befell them: "A pair of Norway rats

like one stunned, but his youth and health stood him in hand, he rallied, and, undaunted, again

caused by a fire in a New York building in which h

sported a silk umbrella, on which I could plainly read 'Stolen from I,' these words being painted in large white characters. He walked as if conscious of his own importance; that is, with a good deal of pomposity, singing, 'My love is but a lassie yet'; and that with such thorough imitation of the Scotch emphasis that had not his physiognomy suggested another parentage, I should have believed him to be a genuine Scot. A narrower acquaintance proved him to be a Yankee; and anxious to make his acquaintance, I desired to see his birds. He retorted, 'What the devil did I know about birds?' I explained to him that I was a naturalist, whereupon he requested me to examine his birds. I did so with much interest, and was preparing to leave, when he bade me come to his lodgings and see the remainder of his collection. This I willingly did, and was struck with amazement at the appearance of his studio. Several cages were hung about the walls, containing specimens of

nting the birds, and completing his collection. Among other things he painted the "Death of Montgomery" from a print. His friends persuaded him to raffle the picture off. This he did, and taking one number himself, won the

r named Stein, who gave Audubon his first lessons in the use of o

nd. "My best friends," he says at this time, "solemnly regarded me as a mad man, and my wife and family alone gave me encoura

red into an engagement with a Mrs. Percy of Bayou Sara, to instruct her

ndered as far as New Orleans, but Audubon appears to have returned to his wife again in May, and to have engaged in teaching her pupils music and drawing. But something went wrong, ther

a tame black wolf which took Audubon's fancy. He says that he offered the owner a hundred dollar bill for it on the spot, but was refused. He probably mean

d birds, landscapes, portraits and even signs. In March he left Shipping Port for Philadelphia, leaving his son Victor in the counting house of a Mr. Berthoud. He reached Philadelphia on April 5, and remained there till the following August, studying painting, exhibiting his birds, making many new acquaintances, among them Charles Lu

that city. At this time he had two hundred sheets, and about one thousand birds. While there he again met Vander

said. As most of the persons to whom he had letters of introduction were absent, and as his spirits soon grew low, he left on the fifteenth for Albany. Here he found his money low also. Abandoning the idea of visiting Boston, he took passage on a canal boat for Rochester. His fellow-passengers on the boat were doubtful wh

oat Island on account of the low state of his funds. In Buffalo he obtained a good dinner of bread and milk for twelve cents, and

lf. From Erie he and a fellow-traveller hired a man and cart to take them to Meadville, paying their entertainers over night with music and portrait dra

, when nothing else offered-portraits, landscapes, birds and animals he painted, but he would paint the cabin walls of the ship to pay his passage, if he was short of funds, or execute crayon portraits of a shoemaker and his wife, to pay for shoe

an artist and an Irishman." The weather was rainy, and at Wheeling his companions left the boat in disgust. He sold his skiff and continued his voyage to Cincinnati in a keel boat. Here he obtained a loan of f

wasted clothes, and uncut hair, and alt

mile or more distant through the woods, he got lost in the

own efforts. Receiving an offer to teach dancing, he soon had a class of sixty organised. But the material proved so awkward and refractory that the master in his first lesson broke his bow and nearly ruined his violin in his excitement and impatience. Th

Baring, and Lord Stanley. Lord Stanley said in looking over his drawings: "This work is unique, and deserves the patronage of the Crown." In a letter to his wife at this time, Audubon said: "I am cherished by the most notable people in and around Liverpool, and have obtained letters of introduction to Baron Hum

Royal Institution, an admittance of one shilling being ch

uction to many well known literary and scientific men

for a mile." On his way up in the stage coach he had passed near Sir Walter's seat, and had stood up and craned his neck in vain to get a glimpse of the home of a man to whom, he says, he was indebted for so much pleasure. He and Scott were in many wa

Audubon much kindness and helped

pportunity to see

r Walter came forward, pressed my hand warmly, and said he was 'glad to have the honour of meeting me.' His long, loose, silvery locks struck me; he looked like Franklin at his best. He also reminded me of Benjamin West; he had the great benevolence of William Roscoe about him and a kindness most prepossessing. I could not forbear looking at him, my eyes feasted on his countenance. I watched his movements as I would those of a celestial being; his long, heavy, white eyebrows struck me forcibly. His little room was tidy, though it partook a good deal of the character of a laboratory. He was wrapped in a quilted morning-gown of light purple silk; he had been at work writing on the 'Life of Napoleon.' He writes cl

American forests. He is an American by naturalisation, a Frenchman by birth; but less of a Frenchman than I have ever seen-no dust or glimmer, or shine about him, but great simplicity of manners and behaviour; slight in person and plainly dressed; wears long hair, which t

an my first. My portfolio and its contents were matters on which I could speak substantially, and I found him so willing to level himself with me for awh

that the drawings were of the first order, but he thought that th

at the opening of the Exhibition a

Many such scenes, Mr. Audubon, have I witnessed in my younger days.' We talked much of all about us, and I would gladly have joined him in a glass of wine, but my foolish habits prevented me, and after inquiring of his daughter's health, I left him, and shortly afterwards the rooms; for I had a great appetite, and although there were tables loaded with delicacies,

n later years show that he became less strict in this respect. He would not drink with Sir Walter

lobby of the exchange where his pictures were on exhibition, he overheard one man say to another: "Pray,

ng for better use. I have seen them; the

ubscription, and now a publisher, Mr. Lizars, offers to bring out the first number of "Birds of America

ys: "My success in Edinburgh borders on the miraculous. My book is to be published in numbers containing four [in another place he says five] birds in each, the size of l

nburgh, is copious, graphic, and entertaining.

ubmitted to having his head "looked at." The examiner said: "There cannot exist a moment of doubt that this

"Whilst he was engaged in a handsome panegyric, the perspiration poured from me. I thought I should faint." But he survived the ordeal and responded in a few appropriate words. He was much dined and wined, and obliged to keep lat

, made him a favourite in Edinburgh society. One day he went to read a paper on the Crow to Dr. Brewster, and was so nervous and agitated that he had to pause for a moment in the mi

It is Mr. Audubon here, and Mr. Audubon there; I only hope they will not make a conceited fool of Mr. Audubon at last." There seems to have been some danger of this, for he says: "I seem in a measure to have gone back to my

is first number, to be presented to the Philadelphia Society-"an

harlotte. What was his relief and surprise, then, to see a "small, slender man, tottering on his feet, weaker than a newly hatched partridge," who welcomed him with tears in his eyes. The count

man," he writes, "with a serious face and dignified air. He looks both shrewd and cunning, and talks

h wires, and when satisfied with the truth of the position, I take my palette and work as rapidly as possible; the same with my birds. If practica

true. He did not feel that way about the sermon he heard Sydney Smith preach: "It was a sermon to me. He made me smile and he made me think deeply. He pleased me at times by painting my foibles with due care, and again I felt the colour come to my cheeks as he portrayed my sins." Later, he met Sydney Smith and his "fair daughter," and heard the latter sing. Afterwards he ha

making the trip. He chronicles the event in his journal as a very sad one, in which "the will of God was usu

ter, in quest of subscribers to his great work. A few were obtained at each place at two hundred pounds p

ich, if I escape unhurt, it must be called a miracle." It only filled him with a strong desire to be in his beloved woods again. His friend, Basil Hall, had insisted upon his procuring a

wings, pronounced them "very clever," and, in a few days, brought him several purchasers fo

of ambassador." But his work was presented to the King who called it fine, and His Majesty became a subscriber on the usual terms. Other noble persons followed suit, yet Audubon was despondent. He had removed the publication of his work from Edinburgh to London, from the hands of Mr. Lizars into those of Robert Havell. But the enterprise did not prosper, his agents did not attend to business, nor to his orders, and he soon found himself at bay for means to go forward

yed, a man without stiffness or ceremonies: "No cravat, no waistcoat, but a fine frill of his own profuse beard, his hair flowing uncontr

the entire journey without uttering a single word: "We sat like so many owls of differ

e saw a large flock of wild ducks passing over, then presently another flock passed. The sight of these familiar objects made him more homesick

spirits: to his wife he writes, "it carries

his name, which always cut him to t

me the loss of four subscribers; but these things do not dampen my sp

subscribing to his work: "He considered the drawings so-so, and the engraving and colouring b

l him that all his birds were alike, and that he considered his work a swindle. "He may really think this, his knowledge is probably small; b

rian, subscribed for his work. Other subscriptions followed. He was introduced to a judge who wore a wig t

land, and a curious custom, to catch an animal and then set it free merely to catch it again." At Oxford he received much a

nd to improve about fifty of his drawings. During this summer of 1828, he was very busy in London, painting, writing, and superintending the colouring of his plates. Under date of August 9, he writes in his journal: "I have been at work from four every morning until dark; I have kept up my large correspondence. My publication goes on well and regularly, and this very day

ined to look at the Great Man, we waited, knocked again, and with a certain degree of firmness, sent in our names. The messenger returned, bowed, and led the way up stairs, where in a minute Monsieur le Baron, like an excellent good man, came to us. He had heard much of my friend Swainson, and greeted him as he deserves to be greeted; he was polite and kind to me, though my name had never made its way to his ears. I looked at him and here foll

Cuvier gave him a nearer view of the manners and habits of the great man. "There was not the show of opulence at this dinner that is seen in the same rank of life

and saw him sit for his portrait: "I see the Baron now, quite as plainly as I did this morning,-an old green surtout about him, a neckcloth that would have wrappe

the attention of those who were likely to value it. Baron Cuvier reported favourably upon it to the Academy of Sciences, pronouncing it "

g, and pressing forward the engraving and colouring of his

uring the entire voyage, and reached New York May 5. He did not hasten to his family as would have been quite natural after so long an absence, but spent the summer and part of the fall in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, prosecuting his studies and drawings of bird

rovider," but a perusal of his journal shows that he was keenly alive to all the hardships and sacrifices of his wife, and from first to last in his journeyings he speaks of his longings for home and family. "Cut off from all dearest me," he says in one of his youthful journeys, and in his latest one he

ted 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,

. His purposes and ideas fairly possessed him. Never did a man consecrate himself more fully to the succe

ad not seen for five years. After a few days here with his two boys, he started for Bayou Sara to see his wife. Beaching Mr. Johnson's house in the early morning, he went at once to his wife's apartment: "Her door was ajar, already she was dressed and s

ted his drawings to the House of Representatives and received their subscriptions as a body. In Washington, he met the President, Andrew Jackson, and made the acquaintance of Edward Everett. Thence to Ba

painting numerous pictures for sale, writing his "Ornithological Biography," living part of the time in Edinburgh, and part of the time in London, with two or three months passed i

nuscript ready for publication and was so fortunate as to obtai

by MacGillivray, he worked hard at his biography of the birds, writing all day, and Mrs. Audubon making a copy of the work to send to America to secure copyright there. Writing

ered it to two publishers, both of whom refused

on that Extraordinary road called the railwa

It had taken four years to bring that volume before the world, during which time no less than fifty of his subscribers, representing the sum of

hemselves to $1,000 for a work, the publication of wh

abour and expense, have ever been

hundred thousand dollars, yet the author n

birds. His adventures and experiences in Florida, he has embodied in his Floridian Episodes, "The Live Oakers," "Spring Garden," "Deer Hunting," "Sandy Island," "The Wreckers," "The Turtles," "Death of a Pirate," and other sketches. Stopping at Charleston, South Ca

and gathering new material for his work. His diaries give minute accounts of these journeyings. He was impressed by the sobriety of the people of Maine; they seem to have had a "Maine law" at that early date; "for on aski

o Labrador, and intent on adding more material to

or, now a young man of considerable business experience, to England to represent him there. The winter of 1832 and

tarted on his Labrador trip, which lasted till the end of summer. It was an expensive and arduous trip, but was greatly enjoyed by all hand

n eggs were found; this is the most we have seen as yet in any one nest. The female draws the down from her abdomen as far toward her breast as her bill will allow her to do, but the feathers are not pulled, and on examination of several specimens, I

. They were French-Canadians and had been here several years, winter and summer, and are agents for the Fur and Fish Co., who give them food, clothes, and about $80 per annum. They have a cow and an ox, about an acre of potatoes planted in sand, seven feet of snow in winter, and two-thirds less salmon than was caught here ten years since. Then, three hundred barrels was a fair season; now one hundred is the maximum; this is because they will catch the fish both ascending and descending the river. During winter the men hunt Foxes, Martens, and Sables, and kill some bear of the black kind, but neither Deer nor other game

y, making one think that as he goes he treads down the forests of Labrador. The unexpected Bunting, or perhaps Sylvia, which, perchance, and indeed as if by chance alone, you now and then see flying before you, or hear singing from the creeping plants on the ground. The beautiful freshwater lakes, on the rugged crests of greatly elevated islands, wherein the Red and Black-necked Divers swim as proudly as swans do in other latitudes, and where the fish appear to have been cast as strayed beings from the surplus food of the ocean. All-all is wonderfully grand, wild-aye, and terrific. And yet how beautiful it is now, when one sees the wild bee, moving from one flower to another in search of food, which doubtless is as sweet to it, as the essence of the magnolia is to those of favoured Louisiana. The little Ring Plover rearing its delicate and tender young, the Eider Duck swimming man-of-war-like amid her floating brood, like the guardship of a most valuable convoy; the White-crowned Bunting's sonorous note reaching the ear ever and anon; the crowds of sea birds in search of places wherein to repose or to feed-how beautiful is all this in this w

attempts to obtain permission to accompany a proposed expedition to the Rocky Mountains, under Government patronage. But the cold and curt manner in which Cass, then Secretary of War, received his application, quite disheartened him.

passed the most of the winter of 1833-4: "My time was well employed; I hunted for new birds or searched for more knowledge

ron was not present when they entered his private office, but "soon a corpulent man appeared, hitching up his trousers, and a face red with the exertion of walking, and without noticing anyone present, dropped his fat body into a comfortable chair, as if caring for no one else in this wide world but himself. While the Baron sat, we stood, with our hats held respectfully in our hands. I stepped forward, and with a bow tendered my credentials. 'Pray, sir,' said the man of golden consequence, 'i

ffensive arrogance of the banker, I said I should be honoured by his subscription to the "Birds of America." 'Sir,' he said, 'I never sign my name to any subscription list, but you may send in your work and I will pay for

graver, to his banking-house. The Baron looked at it with amazement, and cried out, 'What, a hundred pounds for birds! Why, sir, I will give you five pounds and not a farthing more!' Representations were made to him of the magnificence and expense of the work, and how pleased his Baroness and wealthy children would be to have a copy; but the great financier was unrel

burgh, where he hired a house and spent a year and a half at work on his "Ornithologi

rk, desiring to explore more thoroughly the southern states for new material for his work. On his arrival in New York, Audubon, to his deep mortification, found tha

he met Brewer and Nuttall, and made the acquaint

lf be taken away prematurely, he advises him thus: "Should you deem it wise to remove the publicat

elle, but "when I mentioned subscription it seemed to fall on her ears, not as the cadence of

ited States, and to Martin Van Buren who had just been elected to the presidency. Butler was then quite a young man: "He read Washington Irving's letter, laid it down, and began a long talk about his talents, and after a w

and were taken into a room, where the President soon joined us, I sat close to him; we spoke of olden times, and touched slightly on politics, and I found him very averse to the Cause of the Texans.... The dinner was what might be called plain a

aking excursions to various points farther south, going as far as Florida. It was at this time that he seems to have begun, in connection

fs, tents, and a liberty pole, with the capitol, were all exhibited to our view at once. We approached the President's mansion, however, wading through water above our ankles. This abode of President Houston is a small log house, consisting of two rooms, and a passage through, after the southern fashion. The moment we stepped over the threshold, on the right hand of the passage we found ourselves ushered into what in other countries would be called the antechamber; the ground floor, howeve

yet without a roof, and the floors, benches, and tables of both houses of Congress were as well saturated with water as our clothes had been in the morning. Being invited by one of

hat was forbidding and disagreeable. We reached his abode before him, but he soon came, and we were presented to his excellency. He was dressed in a fancy velvet coat, and trousers trimmed with broad gold lace; around his neck was tied a cravat somewhat in the style of seventy-six. He received us kindly, was desirous of retaining us for awhile, and offered us every facility within his power. He at once removed us from t

n again in Edinburgh and prepared the fourth volume of his "Ornithological Biography." This work seems to have occupied him a year. The volume was published in No

merica," had been practically completed, incredible difficulties had been surmounted, and the goal of his long years of striving had been

, the following note, preserved in the Magazine of American History (1877) was written b

l more than 40 copies of his great work in England, Irela

aid for them: George IV., Duchess of Clarence, M

ook two copies and paid for neither. Rothschil

a, 26 in New York and 24 in Boston; that the work

e found could not be done, as it would have required 40 years to finish it as things were then in Paris. Of th

ESCOTT