The first stage of their honeymoon involved the long ride of over 250 miles to Pittsburgh, the hazards and discomforts of which we have learned from Rozier's description; it was marked in this instance by an accident, for in crossing the Alleghany mountains their coach was upset and Mrs. Audubon did not escape without severe bruises. At Pittsburgh the Audubons met a number of young emigrants bound westward like themselves, and in their company they prepared to float down the beautiful Ohio in a flatboat or ark. Their entire journey, which, owing to the windings of the river, could not have been much less than a thousand miles, was made in twelve days, and without further mishap.
The wild and varied beauty of the Ohio of that day had great attractions for the naturalist, who often regretted that no facile writer had left a true and vivid picture of it for the benefit of posterity, for he foresaw with great concern the inevitable changes which advancing civilization would quickly produce along its delightful banks. Audubon traversed this mighty highway countless times in after life, and some of his musings have lost none of their interest with the flight of time, for he had witnessed the advance of the white man and the retreat of the red, along with the great herds of deer, elk and buffalo that once found peaceful pasturage on its banks. Speaking of a later but hardly less romantic journey,[170] he said:
As night came, sinking into darkness the broader portions of the river, our minds became affected by strong emotions, and wandered far beyond the present moments. The tinkling of bells told us that the cattle which bore them were gently roving from valley to valley in search of food, or returning to their distant homes. The hooting of the Great Owl, or the muffled noise of its wings as it sailed smoothly over the stream, were matters of interest to us; so was the sound of the boatman's horn, as it came winding more and more softly from afar. When daylight returned, many songsters burst forth with echoing notes, more and more mellow to the listening ear. Here and there the lonely cabin of a squatter struck the eye, giving note of commencing civilization. The crossing of the stream by a deer foretold how soon the hills would be covered by snow.
Many sluggish flatboats we overtook and passed; some laden with produce from the different head-waters of the small rivers that pour their tributary streams into the Ohio; others, of less dimensions, crowded with emigrants from distant parts, in search of a new home.
The margins of the shores and of the river were at this season amply supplied with game. A Wild Turkey, a Grouse, or a Blue-winged Teal, could be procured in a few moments; and we fared well, for, whenever we pleased, we landed, struck up a fire and provided, as we were, with the necessary utensils, procured a good repast.
Louisville at this time was a small trading and agricultural center of barely a thousand people.[171] Though the early promises of business there were not fulfilled, Audubon and his wife at once entered upon a happy period, for they made many friends in a new country settled by whole-hearted, well-to-do planters; the men were fond of good horses and of hunting, and the naturalist, who was also a merchant, was welcomed among them as a kindred spirit. But, said Audubon, "birds were birds then as now, and my thoughts were ever and anon turning towards them as the objects of my greatest delight. I shot, I drew, I looked on nature only; my days were happy beyond human conception, and beyond that I really cared not.... I seldom passed a day without drawing a bird, or noting something respecting its habits, Rozier meantime attending the counter."
To revert again to the business affairs of the Audubon-Rozier firm at Louisville, an interesting record has been preserved in a letter[172] written by Thomas Bakewell, a former fellow-clerk of the naturalist in the senior Bakewell's counting-house in New York; this was included with the statement of account, referred to above.
Thomas Bakewell to Audubon & Rozier
[At bottom of account sheet] New York, Decemr. 13th. 1808