FOOTNOTES
[1] Quoted by Captain Thomas Brown ([Bibl. No. 163]) in the Edinburgh Caledonian Mercury, November 3, 1831.
[2] Extract of letter of Colonel Abert. See G. W. Featherstonhaugh ([Bibl. No. 164]), Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural Science, vol. i, p. 229 (1831).
John James Abert (1788-1863), long associated with the Bureau of Topographical Engineers of the United States Army, became brevet lieutenant-colonel in charge of that office in 1837; according to Ruthven Deane (see [Bibliography, No. 216]), he was an organizer of the National Institute of Science, afterwards merged with the Smithsonian Institution at Washington; an ardent friend of Audubon, he assisted him in many ways, and, as Dr. Richard Harlan affirmed, paid dearly for his support by being rejected for membership in the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia. Harlan wrote to Audubon on January 27, 1832, that out of twenty-five members present on the occasion referred to, five, led by Mr. George Ord, Mr. Isaac Lea, and Dr. Hays, had voted against him: in his opinion no possible grounds could be found for opposing so desirable a member excepting his friendship for Audubon and his support of the snake "Episode" (see [Chapter XXVIII]). In 1832 Abert's paper on the "Habits of Climbing of the Rattlesnake," which was written in the previous year, had appeared in a Philadelphia journal (see [Bibliography, No. 107]). To this friend Abert's Squirrel, Sciurus aberti, was later dedicated; see Audubon, The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America ([Bibl. No. 6]), plate 153.
[3] C. L. Bachman, John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D. ([Bibl. No. 191]), to which work I am indebted for numerous extracts from Bachman's letters to Audubon and for various incidents relating to the different members of both families.
[4] This "Great Volume," bound in fine Russia leather, was still in possession of the Bachman family in 1888, and is said to represent one of the earliest impressions of the plates, which Audubon had selected and used for exhibition purposes. See C. L. Bachman, [op. cit.], p. 101.
[5] This unique copy of The Birds of America bears the inscription:
To my worthy Friend
D d. Eckley, Esq., of [Boston]
this volume is given with
his sincere and good wishes.
John J. Audubon.
The plates thus dedicated were unbound, and apparently in their original covers, which consisted of plain brown sheets. They passed through the hands of Messrs. Burrows Brothers' Company, Cleveland, to Mr. Robert H. Sayre of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and were originally received by the American dealers from the Messrs. Sotheran & Company of London. Possibly this was the set mentioned by Coues, who says "Trübner ... quotes the work with plain plates. I have never seen one in that condition" (Birds of the Colorado Valley, p. 612; [Bibl. No. 181]). After Mr. Sayre's death, his library was dispersed by public auction at Philadelphia, when this complete set of Audubon plates, though in an uncolored state, brought $3,200; see Public Ledger, November 9, 1907, and "Bohemian" ([Bibl. No. 207a]), Black Diamond Express, vol. iv, p. 3.
[6] Letter (No. 1) from Audubon to the editor of the Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural Science ([Bibl. No. 34]), published in vol. i, p. 358 (1832); dated "St. Augustine, East Florida, Dec. 7, 1831." These letters, which were hurriedly written in the field, appeared in a short-lived and forgotten publication; they are here given in part on account of the general interest of the narrative.
[7] See Audubon's New Year's resolution against snuff, [Vol. I., p. 396].
[8] See [Vol. I, p. 400].
[9] Thomas Butler King, of St. Simon's Island, Georgia.
[10] Then belonging to the four sons of Samuel Wetherill, who succeeded to the white lead and drugs industry after his death in 1829.
[11] For the favor of reproducing this and another letter by Dr. Harlan given in [Chapter XXVII], as well as the sonnet referred to, which will be found [facing page 1] of this volume, I am indebted to Mr. Ruthven Deane.
[12] The following account is quoted from Audubon's second letter to G. W. Featherstonhaugh ([Bibl. No. 35]), dated "Bulowville, East Florida, December 31, 1831;" published, loc. cit., vol. i, p. 407 (1832).
[14] See following Note; and "Spring Garden," Ornithological Biography ([Bibl. No. 2]), vol. ii, p. 263.
[15] See [Bibliography, No. 36]; undated; published, loc. cit., vol. i, p. 529 (1832).
[16] See "St. John's River in Florida," Ornithological Biography, vol. ii, p. 291.
[17] See "The Florida Keys," Ornithological Biography, vol. i, pp. 312 and 345, and "The Turtlers," ibid., vol. ii, p. 370.
[18] See [Vol. II, p. 7].
[19] See "A Merchant of Savannah," Ornithological Biography ([Bibl. No. 2]), vol. ii, p. 549.
[20] It was possibly during his visit to this city that an experiment was made in bringing out some of his plates by lithography. Two copies of a large plate, possibly the only one produced, lithographed without colors, were shown to me by Mr. Goodspeed, of Boston, in the summer of 1910; these represented the "Rallus crepitans—Marsh Hen," and bore the following legends: "By John J. Audubon, F.R.S., &c., &c.," and "Drawn & Printed by Childs & Inman, Philadelphia, 1832." Three birds are here figured in place of the two which appear in the plate of this species which Havell later engraved, and in composition the two publications are quite distinct.
[21] In a letter written to Audubon by his engraver, January 20, 1831, Havell said: "Since writing my last, I have a new subscriber from America, the Honble. T. H. Perkins, Boston Athenæum. I packed it in a tin case, and a wooden one; for the whole I am paid thro. the banking house of the Baring Brothers, & Co., Bishopsgate St."
The copy of The Birds of America in possession of the Boston Society of Natural History bears the following in autographic inscription on the fly-leaf of the first volume:
Cost $1125—
T. H. Perkins
1837.
[22] See [Vol. II, p. 43].
[23] See "Journey in New Brunswick and Maine," Ornithological Biography ([Bibl. No. 2]), vol. ii, p. 467.
[24] C. L. Bachman, John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D. ([Bibl. No. 191]).
[25] For notice of Robert Havell, Senior, who died in 1832, see [Vol. I, p. 382].
[26] Originally published by Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 48]), The Auk, vol. xxii, 1905.
[27] Alexander Gordon, who married Ann Bakewell, youngest sister of Mrs. Audubon. For notice of Jos. B. Kidd, mentioned below, see [Vol. I, p. 446].
[28] Originally published by George Bird Grinnell ([Bibl. No. 54]), The Auk, vol. xxxiii, 1916.
[29] See [Chapter XXIX, p. 118], and the letter which Audubon wrote to Bonaparte at this time.
[30] Most readers will doubtless recall that Dr. George Parkman was the victim of an almost unbelievable tragedy in 1849, when he met his death at the hands of a colleague; the entire country was then aroused as it seldom had been by an event in the annals of crime.
[31] In 1897 Mr. Joseph Coolidge, who was then living in San Francisco, was the sole survivor of this expedition; see Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and his Journals ([Bibl. No. 86]), vol. i, p. 347.
[32] Dr. George Cheyne Shattuck, like his father a philanthropist, and an ardent patron of all good works, in 1855 planted a seed on the rocky soil of New Hampshire which has since shown a marvelous vitality; to him primarily, and to the revered schoolmasters, the Reverend Dr. Henry Augustus Coit and the Reverend Dr. Joseph Rowland Coit, the world owes that great foundation, St. Paul's School.
[33] Maria R. Audubon, [op. cit.], vol. i, p. 346.
[34] See "The Eggers of Labrador," Ornithological Biography ([Bibl. No. 2]), vol. iii, p. 82.
[35] Lincoln's Finch, Fringella lincolnii, now Melospiza lincolni.
[36] See Charles W. Townsend ([Bibl. No. 234]), The Auk, vol. xxxiv, p. 133 (1917).
[37] Maria R. Audubon, [op. cit.], vol. i, p. 386.
[38] Ibid., p. 390.
[39] Ibid., p. 425.
[40] As a memento of the Labrador experience, Audubon presented Harris with his pocket companion, The Genera of North American Birds and a Synopsis of the Species, by Charles Lucien Bonaparte (New York, 1828), and inscribed it as presented to his friend at "Eastport, Sept. 1, 1833." This volume, which saw much hard usage on this voyage and is filled with Audubon's manuscript notes, is now in possession of Mr. Joseph Y. Jeanes.
[41] For Tuesday, September 10, 1833.
[42] Lucy Audubon, ed., Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist ([Bibl. No. 73]), p. 377.
[43] Ibid., p. 379.
[44] See [Chapter XXVIII, p. 78].
[45] See [ibid., p. 81].
[46] Which I am able to reproduce through the kindness of Miss Maria R. Audubon.
[47] The reference is to Victor G. Audubon's second article in defense of his father, which appeared in Loudon's Magazine of Natural History (see [Bibliography, No. 118]). Swainson's paper, under the same title (see [Bibliography, No. 117]), was published in the same number.
[48] For an account of this discussion see [Chapter XXVIII], where the memorial drawn up and signed by the faculty of the Medical College of South Carolina is reproduced.
[49] When in New York, awaiting the sailing of his vessel, in April, 1834, Audubon referred to Bachman's paper on the Turkey Buzzard in writing to Miss Maria Martin, as follows: "At Phila., Mr. Lee and Docr. Hays managed to have it not read at Philosoph. Socy, but the Lyceum of New York, after reading it, have sent it to Professor Silliman, in whose Journal it will appear. John Bachman may consider himself a member of the Lyceum of New York, and 'mayhap,' a fellow of the Linnean Society of London." Bachman's paper was actually published in the Journal of the Boston Society of Natural History for 1834; see [Bibliography, No. 125].
[50] This paper, entitled "Remarks in Defense of [Mr. Audubon] the author of the Birds of America," was published in volume vii of Loudon's Magazine of Natural History for 1834, and is dated "Charleston, Dec. 31, 1833"; see [Bibliography, No. 124].
[51] See [Note, Vol. I., p. 426].
[52] See [Vol. I, p. 260].
[53] See Audubon's statement of the case, given in [Note, Vol. I, p. 260].
[54] See [Bibliography, Nos. 17-21].
[55] For this privilege I am indebted to Miss Maria R. Audubon.
[56] See [Bibliography, No. 21].
[57] At one time superintendent of the Patent Office at Washington, and professor in the medical department of Columbia College; he was later professor of mathematics in the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia and editor of the Franklin Journal and American Mechanics' Magazine.
[58] See [Bibliography, No. 115].
[59] See [Bibliography, No. 93].
[60] This episode was referred to in [ Chapter XX, p. 316].
[61] This was very clearly pointed out in 1908 in an excellent article by Mr. George W. Colles, entitled "A Defence of Audubon" ([Bibl. No. 160]), in Scientific American, vol. xcviii, p. 311.
[62] See Plate lii, of the Chuck-will's-widow.
[63] See [Vol. II, p. 3]; and [Bibliography, No. 107].
[64] An English geologist, who made a survey of the bituminous coal-deposits of the Alleghany mountains in 1834. See [Bibliography, No. 129].
[65] Ornithological Biography ([Bibl. No. 2]), vol. iv, p. xviii.
[66] See Thomas M. Brewer, ([Bibl. No. 79]), Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. lxi, p. 666 (1880).
[67] This specimen, which was presented to me by the late Dr. X. C. Scott of Cleveland, measured 6 feet, and showed eight rattles and a button; the skin and skeleton are preserved in the Biological Laboratory of Western Reserve University.
[68] See [Vol. II, p. 55].
[69] Bachman's account of these experiments is interesting: "A coarse painting," he said, was made on canvas, "representing a sheep skinned and cut open. This proved very amusing—no sooner was this picture placed on the ground than the Vultures observed it, alighted near, walked over it, and some of them commenced tugging at the painting. They seemed much disappointed and surprised, and after having satisfied their curiosity, flew away. This experiment was repeated more than fifty times, with the same result. The painting was then placed within two feet of the place where the offal was deposited—they came as usual, walked around it, but in no instance evinced the slightest symptoms of their having scented the offal which was so near them.
"The most offensive portions of the offal were now placed on the earth; these were covered over by a canvass cloth—on this were strewn several pieces of fresh beef. The Vultures came, ate the flesh that was in sight, and although they were standing on a quantity beneath them, and although their bills were frequently within the eighth of an inch of the putrid matter, they did not discover it. We made a small rent in the canvass, and they at once discovered the flesh and began to devour it. We drove them away, replaced the canvass with a piece that was entire; again they commenced eating the flesh exhibited to their view, without discovering the hidden food they were trampling upon.
"As it [the organ of smell] does however exist, (although in an inferior degree,) I am not disposed to deny to birds the power of smell altogether, nor would I wish to advance the opinion that the Vulture does not possess the power of smelling in the slightest degree, (although it has not been discovered by our experiments). All that I contend for is, that he is not assisted by this faculty in procuring his food—that he cannot smell better for instance, than Hawks or Owls, who it is known are indebted altogether to their sight, in discovering their prey."
[70] See [Bibliography, No. 104], and [Vol. II, p. 55]; also Ornithological Biography, vol. ii, p. 46.
[71] See [Bibliography, No. 125], and for the quotation to follow, Samuel N. Rhoads, "George Ord," Cassinia, No. xii (Philadelphia, 1908).
[72] See W. Sells ([Bibl. No. 140]), Proceedings of the Zoölogical Society of London, pt. v, p. 33 (1837).
[73] See [Vol. II, pp. 4] and [23], and [Bibliography, No. 106].
[74] See [Bibliography, No. 136].
[75] See [Bibliography, No. 105].
[76] See [Bibliography, No. 106].
[77] See [Bibliography, No. 35].
[78] See [Bibliography, No. 104] et seq.
[79] See [Vol. I, p. 224].
[80] "I myself, with mine own eyes, have seen Wilson's original diary, written by him at Louisville, and I have just now on the table before me the account of the Academy of Sciences indignantly rejecting Mr. Audubon as a member, on that diary having been produced to their view." See [Bibliography, No. 119].
[81] See [Bibliography, No. 119].
[82] See [Bibliography, No. 115].
[83] See [Bibliography, No. 117].
[84] See [Bibliography, No. 114].
[85] Wanderings in South America, the North-West of the United States, and the Antilles, in the years 1812, 1816, 1820, & 1824. Originally in 4to., London, 1825.
[86] See "Nests and Nest-Building in Birds," Pt. 2, Journal of Animal Behavior, vol. i (1911).
[87] See [Bibliography, No. 138].
[88] See [Chapter XXIII].
[89] Swainson expounded the Quinarian or Circular System in the Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the zoölogy of the northern parts of British America, published in collaboration with John Richardson, and the first zoölogical publication issued by the British Government; but A Treatise on the Geography and Classification of Animals contained his most authoritative thesis upon this grotesque concept.
[90] See [Vol. I, p. 403].
[91] For the history of the Audubon-Swainson correspondence, see [Note, Vol. I, p. 400]. Swainson's letter which follows was first published by Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 218]), The Auk, vol. xxii, p. 248 (1905).
[92] Reproduced in [Vol. I, p. 430].
[93] Possibly Henry Ward, who came to America with Audubon in 1831 as his assistant and taxidermist (see [Vol. II, p. 2]); a Frederick Ward is also mentioned in Audubon's letters.
[94] Isaac Lea, naturalist and Philadelphia publisher; Mr. Lea was a member of the firm of Messrs. Carey & Lea, at one time the principal proprietors of Wilson's American Ornithology, and it was thought that the prejudice which he manifested towards Audubon and his friends was traceable to his desire to maintain the sales of that work. His attitude was compared with that of Judge Hall, whose brother, Harrison, was also an interested publisher. See [Vol. I, pp. 223] and [281].
[95] From the Howland MSS.
[96] First published by Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 217]), The Auk, vol. xxii, p. 31 (1905).
[97] William John Burchell (1782?-1863), an indefatigable collector and explorer, especially in Africa and Brazil; the zebra, Equus burchelli, and many animals and plants which he discovered have been dedicated to him.
[98] Referring to the Fauna-Boreali Americana, the second part of which, on "Birds," published in 1831, was by Swainson; see [Vol. I, p. 410].
[99] First published by Elliott Coues ([Bibl. No. 203]), The Auk, vol. xv, p. 11 (1898); reproduced by Theodore Gill ([Bibl. No. 205]), The Osprey, vol. v, p. 23 (1900).
[100] See [Note, Vol. II, p. 105].
[101] But three other letters of Audubon to Swainson, after this date, are noted by Albert Günther ([Bibl. No. 204]) in the Proceedings of the Linnæan Society, 112th session (1900): one of "6 June, 1831," announces Audubon's prospective return to America in August of that year; another, dated "6 Dec. 1837," asks for the loan of some bird skins; and the last of "11 Jan. 1838," is reproduced in [Chapter XXXII]. Swainson is said to have been negotiating at this time with Charles L. Bonaparte in reference to a joint compilation for a work on the birds of the world; Bonaparte estimated that there were then between 7,000 and 8,000 known species to be characterized, but Swainson's terms were not satisfactory, and nothing came of the project. To the above list should be added the letter, evidently misdated, of "April 28th. 1831," soon to follow.
[102] See [Vol. I, p. 438].
[104] Ornithological Biography ([Bibl. No. 2]), vol. i, p. xvii.
[105] Signed "Ornithophilus" (see [Bibliography, No. 97]), and attributed by Coues (see [Bibliography, No. 181]), with a question mark, to Swainson, but the internal evidence shows conclusively that he was not its author. The writer of this article said that it was not enough to state that Audubon "has invented a new style in the representation of natural objects; for so true are his pictures, that he who has once seen and examined them, can never again look with pleasure on the finest productions of other artists. To paint like Audubon, will henceforth mean to represent Nature as she is.... To relieve, as Mr. Audubon says, the tedium of those who may have imposed upon themselves the task of following an author through the mazes of descriptive ornithology, he has interspersed descriptions of American scenery and manners, gloomy forests, tangled cane-brakes, dismal swamps, majestic rivers, floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes; the migration of the white man, the retreat of the red; the character and pursuits of the backwoodsman.... Much, therefore, is it to be wished that Mr. Audubon would undertake the delineation of the birds of Great Britain, which, with his matchless talents, aided by those of Mr. Havell, would eclipse, not only all other representations of these birds, but even the 'Birds of America,' unrivalled as that work now is."
[106] See Ornithological Biography, vol. v, p. 194; and Theodore Gill ([Bibl. No. 206]), The Osprey, vol. iv and v. It seems that Dr. James Trudeau, out of ignorance or disregard for Swainson's designation, later named a woodpecker, obtained near New Orleans in 1837, Picus auduboni, and by a strange coincidence, as Dr. Gill has noticed, the same name was given by two different naturalists to the same bird, now regarded as a variety and known as Dryobates villosus auduboni.
[107] The Cabinet Cyclopædia was published by Messrs. Longman, Orme & Company, and edited by Rev. Dionysius Lardner. Swainson wrote eleven of the twelve volumes devoted to natural history. The volume to which we refer is entitled Taxidermy, Bibliography, and Biography, by William Swainson, A. C. G. [Assistant Commissary-General], F. R. S. & L. S., Hon. F. C. P. S. etc., and of several foreign societies (see [Bibliography, No. 169]). The Literary Gazette for August 8, 1840, in noticing this work, said: "Perhaps the amusing and frequent illustration of his character is to be found in the autobiographical sketch of himself, which he has not only included in this portion of his volume, but induced his publishers to forward on a separate sheet with the subjoined note:
"'Messrs. Longman, Orme, & Co., will feel particularly obliged if the Editor of the ... will permit the above Autobiography to appear in his columns at the first suitable opportunity.'
"'39 Paternoster Row, July 29, 1840.'"
Quoted by Theodore Gill ([Bibl. No. 206]), The Osprey, vol. iv, p. 105 (1900).
[108] Theodore Gill, [loc. cit.]
[109] Albert Günther, [loc. cit.]
[110] For notice of Bonaparte see [Note, Vol. I, p. 329].
[111] See [Vol. II, p. 40].
[112] See [Vol. II, p. 184].
[113] This manuscript list is preserved with the original drawings of The Birds of America, in possession of the Historical Society of New York, where I was permitted to examine it. It bears the following attests of both naturalists in autograph:
"The above list of the Birds of America was made at London on the 15th. of December, 1837, when it was supposed to contain all the known species.
"John J. Audubon,
of Louisiana."
"The above list of North American Birds was drawn up by myself to please Mr. J. J. Audubon.
"London, 15 December, 1837.
"Charles L. Bonaparte.
"The total number of good species, 460," has been added in pencil.
[114] Comparative List of the Birds of Europe and North America, London, 1838.
[115] See [Note, Vol. II, p. 122.]
[116] A Monograph of the Trochilidæ, or Family of the Humming-Birds; 5 vols., fol., with Supplement by Bowlder Sharpe, London, 1861.
[117] Charles Winterfield, see [Bibliography, No. 148].
[118] From letter written at 73 Margaret Street, Cavendish Square, and sealed with turkey-cock seal. (Jeanes MSS.)
[119] First published by Elliott Coues ([Bibl. No. 43]) in the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, vol. v (1880).
[120] For this and extracts in the two following paragraphs, see Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 209]), The Auk, vol. xviii (1901).
[121] See [Vol. II, p. 264].
[122] See [Vol. I, p. 16].
[123] See [Vol. II, p. 135].
[124] This, and the letter of MacGillivray soon to follow, are from the Howland MSS.
[125] The Rapacious Birds of Great Britain, by William MacGillivray, was dedicated to Audubon "in admiration of his talents as an ornithologist, and in gratitude for many acts of friendship."
[126] For an excellent account of the life of William MacGillivray and of his labors in natural science, see William MacGillivray, A Memorial Tribute to William MacGillivray ([Bibl. No. 211]).
[127] See Mrs. Gordon, "Christopher North:" A Memoir of John Wilson ([Bibl. No. 44]).
[128] This and extracts from letters which follow are from the Jeanes MSS.
[129] See [Bibliography, No. 2].
[130] For letter written to Dr. Phillips in 1842, see [Vol. II, p. 244].
[131] Lucy B. Audubon, ed., Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist ([Bibl. No. 73]), p. 385.
[132] The Jeanes MSS.
[133] C. L. Bachman, John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D. ([Bibl. No. 191]).
[134] See [Note, Vol. II, p. 7].
[135] Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), a native of Yorkshire, was brought up a printer; in 1807 he emigrated to the United States, and became noted for his wide botanical explorations, for his Journal of Travels in the Arkansas Territory in 1819, and for his excellent Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada (1833-1834), which has had several editions. From 1822 to 1834 he was professor of Natural History and curator of the Botanical Gardens at Harvard University; in 1834 he crossed the Rocky Mountains along the sources of the Platte, explored Oregon and Upper California, and visited the Sandwich Islands. He returned to England, where he had inherited property, in 1842, and died at St. Helen's, Lancashire, September 10, 1859.
[136] See Lucy B. Audubon, ed., [op. cit.]; and [Note, Vol. II, p. 29].
[137] See Lucy B. Audubon, ed., [op. cit.], p. 391.
[138] In a letter signed "I. P. Davis," and superscribed to "John J. Audubon Esqr at Mr. Berthoud's, 106 Broad Street New York." (Rowland MSS.)
[139] See Thomas M. Brewer ([Bibl. No. 79]), Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. lxi, p. 666 (1880).
[140] Ornithological Biography ([Bibl. No. 2]), vol. iv, p. xi.
[141] Lucy B. Audubon, ed., [op. cit.], p. 398.
[142] Printed in the Edinburgh Journal of Natural History ( [Bibl. No. 37]), vol. i, p. 17 (December, 1838).
[143] See Lucy B. Audubon, ed., [op. cit.], p. 411.
[144] Thomas M. Brewer ([Bibl. No. 79]), loc. cit.
[145] For this and the quotations in the following paragraph, see Thomas M. Brewer ([Bibl. No. 79]), Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. lxi, p. 666 (1880).
[146] See [Vol. II, p. 149].
[147] See S. N. Rhoads ([Bibl. No. 46]), The Auk, vol. xx, p. 377 (1903).
[148] From MS. in the Public Library, New York.
[149] The Linnæan Society's MSS. See [Chapter XXIII, Note 354.]
[150] First published by R. W. Shufeldt ([Bibl. No. 45]), in The Auk, xi (1894); see also Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and his Journals ([Bibl. No. 86]).
[151] See S. N. Rhoads ([Bibl. No. 46]), loc. cit.
[153] See [Vol. I, p. 241].
[154] Voyage Autour du Monde, exécuté par ordre de sa Majesté l'Empereur Nicholas ler, sur la Corvette Le Séniavine, 1826-1829. Par Fréderic Lutké, Capitaine de vaisseau. Partie Historique, avec un atlas, lithographié, d'après les dessins originaux d'Alexandrie Postels et du Baron Kittlitz. Traduit du Russe sur le manuscrit original, sur les yeux de l'auteur, par Le Conseiller D'Etat F. Boyé. Text in 3 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1835-36. The first two volumes are historical, and the third, entitled "Travels of the Naturalists," is translated by Alexandre Postels. The expedition traversed the Behring Sea, touched at some of the Aleutian Islands, and then explored South America as far as the coast of Chili.
[155] First published by Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 225]), in The Auk, vol. xxv (1908). Mr. Deane writes me that he has a copy of a receipt from William MacGillivray to Audubon for the final amount due him for work on the technical parts of Volume V of the Ornithological Biography; at the bottom of this paper Audubon made a memorandum, under date of November 21, 1838, to the effect that the total amount which he had paid MacGillivray for his work upon this volume was £47-11-1.
[156] See [Note 5, Vol. II, p. 7]. Mr. John Hardin (see [Vol. II, p. 295]) showed me an uncolored print of the Hen Turkey which John W. Audubon had given him, and a correspondent in New Orleans informs me that a relative possesses a number in this condition, which were received many years ago as a gift from Mrs. Audubon. Mr. Charles E. Goodspeed, of Boston, was the recipient of the Painted Bunting plates, noticed above.
[157] Henry Augustus Havell (1803-1840), painter, engraver, and at one time assistant to his elder brother, Robert Havell, Junior.
[158] George Alfred Williams ([Bibl. No. 232]), Print-Collectors Quarterly, vol. vi, p. 225 (1916).
[159] Loc. cit.
[160] In 1914 Dr. Samuel Henshaw showed me an impression of this suppressed plate, and also a large printed label, cut from a board backing, which bore within an ornamental border the title "Audubon's Birds of America—Engraved, printed, and colored by Lizars &c. &c." This suggests that Lizars may have issued the first two numbers, which he engraved, in portfolio.
[161] See [Bibliography, No. 142].
[162] See [Bibliography, No. 152].
[163] W. B. O. Peabody; see [Bibliography, No. 143].
[164] See Samuel N. Rhoads ([Bibl. No. 231]) The Auk, vol. xxxiii, p. 130 (1916); transcript of a clipping which apparently had been taken from a New York newspaper of January, 1838; the reading of the American notice is the same, excepting the statement that applications in this country should be made to "N. Berthoud, Esq., New York; Dr. George Parkman, Boston; Rev. Jno. Bachman, Charleston, S. C.; James Grimshaw, Esq., New Orleans, or W. G. Bakewell, Esq., Louisville." It is dated "New York, 11 Jan, 1838."
[165] Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and his Journals ([Bibl. No. 86]), vol. i, p. 71.
[166] See Rhoads ([Bibl. No. 231]), loc. cit.
[167] Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 225]), The Auk, vol. xxv, p. 401 (1908).
[168] Eight in number, the aggregate cost of which was then $1,624: The Birds of America, with its letterpress, was offered at $1,000; library, or octavo edition, with reduced plates, in 100 Parts, at $100; The Quadrupeds of North America, 2 vols., folio, with 3 vols. text, in 8vo., $300; text of the same, according to binding, from $31 (paper) to $40 (full Turkey mor.); Birds and Quadrupeds, library ed., 10 vols., 650 plates, $150 to $160, according to style; Synopsis of Birds of America, $4; The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, 3 vols., text only, $9. See Mrs. Horace St. John, Life of Audubon ([Bibl. No. 71]), in advertisement inserted in volume. These prices were similar to those that prevailed during the lifetime of the naturalist.
According to Mr. Ruthven Deane, Audubon's account books show that on January 8, 1840, a box was sent to Dr. George Parkman, of Boston, containing a set of The Birds of America, in full binding, at $1,075; a set of the same, half bound, at $950; and the "Biographies" at $27.
The highest recorded price of The Birds of America is believed to be $4,350, which the Kemble set brought at auction at Philadelphia, in 1906 (See Prices Current for 1906); the highest price paid for a single plate, that of the Turkey Cock (Plate No. 1) upwards of $140; and the highest price asked for the octavo edition of the Birds (in original parts), $750. The Quadrupeds in 2 vols., original folio, now brings about $500.
[169] Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 225]), loc. cit.
[170] For a copy of this minute, the substance of which was published in 1877 (See [Bibliography, No. 179]), I am indebted to the present librarian, Mr. Kelby.
[171] Jonathan Prescott Hall (1796-1862), eminent lawyer and jurist, was at one time district attorney for the southern district of New York, and author of Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of City of New York— 1828-29 (2 vols., New York, 1831-33). Mr. Hall was a subscriber to the octavo editions of Audubon's Birds and Quadrupeds.
[172] According to Lucy B. Audubon, ed., The Life of John James Audubon ([Bibl. No. 73]), from which we have drawn numerous extracts from his journals; see p. 381, under date of May 12, 1834.
[173] See Thomas M. Brewer ([Bibl. No. 79]), Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. lxi, p. 666 (1880).
[174] From last page of paper covers, in which parts of the work were originally issued.
Below are the following notices:
"Persons desirous of subscribing to the above work are respectfully requested to apply to J. J. Audubon, 86 White street, Henderson Greene, 377 Broadway, or W. A. Colman, Broadway, New York; to J. B. Chevalier, 70 Dock street, or Orrin Rogers, 67 South Second street, Philadelphia; C. C. Little or James Brown, Boston; J. P. Beile, or Geo. Oates, Charleston, S. C.; Gideon B. Smith, Baltimore; David Ridgely, Annapolis, Md.; J. S. Kellogg & Co., Mobile, Ala."
"S. H. Stevenson, Travelling Agent for Kentucky and Virginia; and William A. Pierce for Pennsylvania."
This first octavo edition of Audubon's Birds was issued by J. J. Audubon, and J. B. Chevalier, Philadelphia, in 100 parts, of five plates each, to be bound in 7 volumes, 1840-44. Complete sets in parts are now very rare; previous to 1907 a set is said to have been sold for $500; in 1914 one was offered in Philadelphia for $750. The introduction to No 1, is dated "New York, Nov. 1839," and the fifteenth number, beginning volume ii, "N. Y., Aug., 1840." The first five volumes (1840-42) were issued with the coöperation of J. B. Chevalier, lithographer, 70 Dock Street, Philadelphia, but, according to Mr. Ruthven Deane, he was an agent who received a commission on sales, and, for a time, a share in the profits, but not a co-publisher with Audubon; it is also stated that when misfortune visited Chevalier in later life, he was cared for by Audubon or his sons, up to the time of his death. For fuller details, see [Bibliography, No. 4].
[175] Of these, according to Mr. Witmer Stone (see [Bibliography, No. 221]), 474 are sanctioned in the present "Check List" of the American Ornithologists' Union; seventeen have proved to be identical with others; ten are extra-limital; two are hybrids; and five have never been found since; of Audubon's suppressed species, two have been resuscitated. Audubon is thought to have been personally acquainted with 385 American species, others being known to him only through specimens sent by collectors, or discovered in museums.
[176] First published by Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 48b]), The Auk, vol. xxv (1908).
[177] See "Original Account Book of J. J. Audubon" ([Bibl. No. 223]), The Nation, vol. lxxxiv, from which the following data regarding issues and sales of this work are drawn. The total edition of the plates for No. 2 was 1,345, and of No. 3, 1,339. No. 11 of the plates was the first to run to 1,000 copies in the first printing, and this issue was continued to No. 50, inclusive, excepting Nos. 3, 28, 29, and 30, of which 1,500 seem to have been printed; the plates of these numbers were done at the lithographic establishment of Endicotts, New York, all others being the work of J. T. Bowen, Philadelphia. When subscriptions began to fall off with No. 51, the edition was reduced to 1,150, and again with No. 57, to 1,050, which remained constant to No. 84, or as far as this record goes. Of the text, printed by E. G. Dorsey, 1,200 copies formed the first edition of No. 1, 1,000 copies that of No. 2, and of successive numbers to No. 23. With No. 24, the edition was increased to 2,000, and in February, 1841, the earlier numbers were reprinted, thus forming a second edition of these parts, and affording a chance for correction of errors. (See Audubon's letter quoted above.)
[178] See Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. Nos. 47] and [49-51]), The Auk, vols. xxi, xxiii, and xxiv (1904-7), Passim; and William H. Dall, Spencer Fullerton Baird, a Biography ([Bibl. No. 52]) (1915); to these admirable accounts I am indebted for such abstracts of this correspondence as are here reproduced.
[179] See [Vol. II, p. 169].
[180] See [Note, Vol. II, p. 211].
[181] William Yarrell (1784-1856) was the author of A History of British Fishes (1835-36), and A History of British Birds (1839-43) in three volumes; the latter has passed through several editions, the fourth and best being by Alfred Newton in four volumes (1871-85). For the favor of reproducing this letter, and another by Yarrell given in [Chapter XXXIV], I am indebted to Mr. Ruthven Deane.
[182] See John E. Thayer ([Bibl. No. 53]), The Auk, vol. xxxiii (1916). Mr. Thayer's Ornithological Museum now contains the original specimen of Parkman's Wren, to which Audubon refers; it is "mounted on a twig, in a paper box with a glass front," and is "in excellent condition."
[183] Baird wrote to Audubon, November 4, 1846: "Please tell me the address of your friend Ayres. I have been collecting fishes for some weeks, and wish to correspond & exchange with him on this subject." A woodpecker, Colaptes ayresii, was named after this friend by Audubon, in The Birds of America, vol. vii, in 1843.
[184] Addressed to Messrs. Little & Brown, booksellers, acknowledging the receipt of a check for $214.20.
[185] See [Vol. I, p. 103].
[186] See [Bibliography, No. 60].
[187] See [Chapter XXXVI].
[188] Parke Godwin, The Homes of American Authors ([Bibl. No. 68]) (1853).
[189] See Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 224]), The Auk, vol. xxv (1908).
[190] See C. L. Bachman, John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D. ([Bibl. No. 191]), p. 199.
[191] See [Vol. II, p. 144].
[192] See William H. Dall, Spencer Fullerton Baird, a Biography ([Bibl. No. 52]), pp. 88-91, for the complete letters from which the preceding extracts have been taken.
[193] See Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and his Journals ([Bibl. No. 86]), vol. i, pp. 453-532, and vol. ii, pp. 1-196.
[194] Charles Winterfield ([Bibl. No. 149]), The American Review, vol. i (1845); see also Charles W. Webber, Romance of Natural History ([Bibl. No. 173]) (1852).
[195] See [Vol. II, p. 294].
[196] See Maria R. Audubon, [op. cit.], vol. ii, Note on pp. 175-6.
[197] At the close of the Civil War, Bachman wrote to a friend: "I had been a snuff-taker for forty years and I had tried three times to wean myself from the vice. I have done it effectually now...."
[198] Bibliographical Appendix to Birds of the Colorado Valley ([Bibl. No. 181]).
[199] See [Bibliography, Nos. 5-7].
[200] See C. L. Bachman, John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D. ([Bibl. No. 191]).
[201] See Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 51]), The Auk, vol. xxiv (1907). To Mr. Deane I am indebted for Audubon's copy of a letter to John Bachman, soon to follow; this was written on several blank sheets at the end of his "Copy of my Journal from Fort Union homeward. Commencing (Sunday) Aug. 16th (1843) at 12 o'clock, the moment of our departure."
[202] The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America ([Bibl. No. 6]), vol. i, p. 312 (London, 1847).
[203] William H. Dall, Spencer Fullerton Baird, a Biography ([Bibl. No. 52]), p. 121.
[204] Charles Winterfield ([Bibl. No. 150]), The American Review, vol. ii (1845).
[205] William H. Dall, [op. cit.], p. 124.
[206] Jeanes MSS. See [Note, Vol. I, p. 180.]
[207] For "C," meaning Alexander Culbertson, a young Englishman, famous rider and shot, then in charge of Fort Union at the mouth of the Yellowstone. Audubon, with the assistance of Sprague, painted his portrait and that of his wife, a Blackfoot Indian princess, who also was noted for her skill in horsemanship. "I lost the head of my first [buffalo] bull head," said Audubon, "because I forgot to tell Mrs. Culbertson that I wished to save it, and the princess had its skull broken open to enjoy its brains. Handsome, and really courteous and refined in many ways, I cannot reconcile myself to the fact that she partakes of raw animal food, with such evident relish." (Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and his Journals, vol. ii, p. 111).
For previous and following extracts, see C. L. Bachman, [op. cit.], p. 208.
[208] See William H. Dall, [op. cit.], pp. 130-2.
[209] Ibid., p. 126.
[210] Ibid., p. 129.
[211] Mrs. Harriet Bachman died in July, 1846, and almost immediately a daughter was stricken with a fatal disease; "It seizes," said the father, "with a deadly hold, weakens the cords of life; and only relinquishes its fatal grasp, when life is extinct." (See C. L. Bachman, [op. cit.])
[212] New York City furnished (for vol. i) 82 subscribers, who took 86 copies; Philadelphia, 33; Boston, 27 (28 copies); and Baltimore, 15. In 1854 Victor Audubon obtained 129 subscribers for the second edition (published with reduced plates) in three days.
[213] For this and the following extract, see Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 51]), loc. cit., p. 65.
[214] In the summer of 1846 Baird's nominal position in Dickinson College had been changed to an active one by his election to a professorship of chemistry and natural history, and his marriage had followed in August. The college had about one hundred students enrolled at that time, and the grammar, or preparatory, school attached to it, about half as many more. See Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 51]), The Auk, vol. xxiv, p. 65 (1907).
[215] For this and the two following letters, see [ibid.], pp. 66-69.
[216] William H. Dall, [op. cit.], which see also for preceding extract.
[217] See [Vol. II, p. 275]; and [Bibliography, No. 6].
[218] This hastily written note, possibly a duplicate of the one actually sent, was inserted in a copy of The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (vol. i, London, 1847) which I purchased in London, August, 1913, and which bore this inscription, in autograph, on the title:
J. E. Gray.
from J W. Audubon
with grateful Recolections
May 4, 1847.
[219] Her assistance to Audubon was recognized in his dedication to her of "Maria's Woodpecker," Picus martinæ (see Ornithological Biography vol. v, p. 181).
[220] See C. L. Bachman, [op. cit.], p. 270.
[221] Miss Eliza Mallory, who in 1874 was living in the Victor Audubon house.
[222] See C. L. Bachman, [op. cit.], p. 391. John Bachman died at Charleston, February 24, 1874.
[223] See [Vol. II, p. 150].
[224] See [Bibliography, No. 79].
[225] See [Vol. II, p. 279].
[226] See Ruthven Deane, [loc. cit.], p. 70.
[227] See William H. Dall, [op. cit.], p. 155.
[228] For this and the following letter, see C. L. Bachman, [op. cit.], p. 274.
[229] See C. L. Bachman, John Bachman, D.D., LL.D., Ph.D. ([Bibl. No. 191]), p. 276. The suggestion made to Mr. Harris was adopted, which accounts for the six colored plates inserted in the third volume of the text; the "Large Work" referred to the folio plates with accompanying text, the "Small," to the first composite edition of both text and plates; see Bibliography, Nos. 5-7.
[230] See C. L. Bachman, [op. cit.], p. 278.
[231] John W. Audubon's children by Maria Bachman were: (1) Lucy Audubon (Mrs. De Lancey Barclay Williams), 1838-1909; (2) Harriet Bachman Audubon, 1839- ; by Caroline Hall, who died in 1899: (3) John James Audubon, 1842 (lived one day); (4) Maria Rebecca Audubon, 1843- ; (5) John James Audubon, 1845-1893; (6) William Bakewell Audubon, 1847- , who emigrated to Australia, where he engaged in sheep-raising, and has two children, Leonard Benjamin and Eleanor Caroline Audubon; Leonard Audubon, who is twenty-nine, is now fighting for France in the 55th Battalion of the Australian contingent; as I have been recently informed by his aunt, he has been almost constantly on the fighting front since August, 1916, and in the spring of 1917 he was promoted from the ranks "on account of great bravery under unusual conditions;" if still living, William Audubon and his son are the sole male representatives of the American branch of the Audubon family; (7) Jane Audubon, 1849-1853; (8) Florence Audubon, 1853- ; (9) Benjamin Phillips Audubon, 1855-1886.
Victor G. Audubon had six children by his second wife, Georgiana R. Mallory, who died in 1882; (1) Mary Eliza Audubon, 1845- ; (2) Rose Audubon, 1846-1879; (3) Victor Gifford Audubon, 1847-1915; (4) Delia Talman (Mrs. Morris Frank Tyler), 1849- ; (5) Lucy Bakewell Audubon, 1851-1898; and (6) Anne Gordon Audubon, 1854-1907.
[232] See [Vol. II, p. 267].
[233] Due, it was believed, to a fall into the "well" (now guarded by an iron rail), which led to a basement window of his house, though one who knew John W. Audubon well, said that Victor's illness resulted from a fall from a railroad train; see Jacob Pentz ([Bibl. No. 81]), Shooting and Fishing, May 11, 1893.
[234] Maria R. Audubon, in biographical memoir of her father in Audubon's Western Journal, 1849-1850 ([Bibl. No. 219]).
[235] For fuller details, see [Bibliography, No. 9], and for Prospectus of this work, [Appendix III, No. 3].
[236] For conflicting accounts of this text, see [Bibliography, No. 10], and for a definitive statement, [Appendix III, No. 3]. Miss Maria R. Audubon has told me that during the War, the Bien firm issued a patriotic poster, showing an eagle, taken from one of her grandfather's original drawings, and the American flag; it was thought that a large number of copies were sold.
[237] Maria R. Audubon, [op. cit.]
[238] Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and his Journals ([Bibl. No. 86]), vol. i, p. 380.
[239] See William MacGillivray, A Memorial Tribute to William MacGillivray ([Bibl. No. 211]), p. 40.
[240] See Bibliography, Nos. [174] and [219].
[241] See [Bibliography, No. 54].
[242] Jacob Pentz ([Bibl. No. 81]), loc. cit.
[243] See [Bibliography, No. 219].
[244] See [Chapter I].
[245] Charles Augustus Stoddard; for his memorial sermon, see [Bibliography, No. 178]. In the absence of the rector of the Church of the Intercession, the pastor of the Washington Heights Presbyterian Church was called to officiate at the funeral of Mrs. J. J. Audubon, June 22, 1874.
[246] For the privilege of examining this unique collection I am indebted to the courtesy of the Society, and of its librarian, Mr. Kelby.
[247] Ruthven Deane ([Bibl. No. 225]), The Auk, vol. xxv (1908).
[248] At that time the American Museum of Natural History, New York, possessed nine; the Smithsonian Institution, six; Princeton University, four; Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, one, while the remainder were in private hands.
[249] For the substance of this paragraph, I am indebted to the Report of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, New York, 1913.
[250] See Mrs. Horace St. John, Audubon, the Naturalist of the New World ([Bibl. No. 71]), New York, 1856.
[251] See Valentine's Manual of the City of New York, New York, 1865.
[252] On October 30, 1847, Bachman wrote John and Victor Audubon that he proposed to visit them in the following May, when he would leave his two daughters with them awhile, "to hear you and Victor grumble about that eye-sore of a railroad, and to enjoy your good company, and your fish and shrimps."
[253] To Mr. Jesse Benedict.
[254] Mr. Charles F. Stone, whose sister was an artist.
[255] For probable meaning of this term, see Note, [Vol. I, p. 54].
[256] Or acariasis, an affection of the skin caused by the mange-mite, Demodex folliculorum, a microscopic arachnid parasite found in the sebaceous glands of dog and man.
[257] A skin disease to which negroes in Central America are specially prone.
[258] See [Vol. I, p. 54].