For a number of years Audubon's snake stories had subjected him to no little ridicule in certain quarters, and this notice of a climbing rattlesnake pleased him so much that he asked the venerable president to put his statement in writing; he willingly complied, and his interesting letter on the subject will be given in a later chapter.[44]
When Audubon and his wife reached the Bachman home on October 24, he was prepared to push on to the South, but changed his plans, on account, he said, "of the removal of my good friend Captain Robert Day from his former station to New York, and I did not like to launch on the Florida reefs in the care of a young officer unknown to me." The winter of 1833-4 was passed under the hospitable rooftree of his friend, in the usual occupations of painting, writing and hunting birds. At this time an attachment sprang up between his younger son, John Woodhouse Audubon, and Maria Rebecca, the eldest daughter of the Bachman household. Here Audubon wrote the first drafts of many of the bird biographies contained in the second volume of his letterpress, and with Bachman conducted a series of careful experiments on the power of smell in vultures, in order to settle a question which had then become acute among naturalists.[45] This subject is referred to in the following intimate letter,[46] which reveals the confidence which Audubon felt in his sons and in their united ability to bring his great undertaking to a successful issue, as well as the infinite pains which he bestowed upon every part of it. Audubon, who was now in his forty-ninth year, felt that he was aging very fast, and declared that one year then would be equal to three, three years from that time.
Audubon to his Son, Victor
Charleston, Dc., 24, 1833.
My dear beloved Victor:—
Your last letter to us is dated at London, 7th. Octbr. It has given us all ample and sincere pleasure. The copy of your reply[47] to Mons. Waterton is excellent; that from Swainson ought to prove a death-blow to the Demerara Gent! I hope that these letters are now before the world, for my mortification has been great enough respecting the blackguardism of G. Ord and others, and yet I am heartily glad that I never paid personally any attention to them through the press or otherwise. Here my friends are as much shocked as myself, and the moment is at hand when these T... will be glad to find some hiding place to resort to, and wait for time to obliterate their obvious jealousy and falsehood.
John Bachman and myself have begun a second series of experiments, such as I made before, connected with the nose-smelling of Turkey Buzzards; as far as we have gone through them, these experiments have proved perfectly satisfactory to my good friend and myself, and depend [upon] it, from next Wednesday, the American World will know that Turkey Buzzards are first, Gregarious, as well as the Carrion Crow [Black Vulture], that they eat fresh meat in preference to putrid stuff; that they eat birds, fresh killed, either plucked or not, even of their own species; that they suck birds' eggs, and devour their callow young; that they come to their food by their sense of sight, and not that of smell, and lastly that they cannot discover by any sense of smell the most putrid matter, even when this putrid stuff is within a few feet of them, out of sight of their eyes. Were Snakes as abundant near Charleston as Buzzards, that business would soon be also set at rest, but for this, however, time is required, and the time I think will come. The experiments we are making will be repeated in the presence of the faculty of this city,[48] and their Certificates attached to the whole, and immediately published in the Annals of the Philosophical Society of Phila.[49] those of the Lyceum of New York. A copy will be sent to be read at the Linnean, or Royal Society of London, and Royal Institute of France; then let those laugh who win. We have attracted Turkey Buzzards with pieces of fresh beef, not more than an inch square, and we have seen others pass unnoticed the body of a hare or fowl within 20 steps. We have now 3 fine birds of this species to experiment upon, and their olfactory nerves will be examined by the faculty here, where there are some highly talented men.
Our friend Bachman has written a very fine paper for Loudon's Mag.[50] which will be forwarded to you in a few days by duplicate, and which I wish you to give to our friend J. G. Children, and ask him to have it read at the R. and L. Societies, and inserted in the above mentioned Mag. afterwards. We hope all this will be accomplished by the 1st. March next.
Now to other subjects. We are deeply at work. John has drawn a few Birds, as good as any I ever made, and in a few months I hope to give this department of my duty up to him altogether; his improvements on other subjects are equally pleasing. I write a [biography of a] Bird or so every evening, and our friend grants me all his knowledge of the habits of those with which he has become well acquainted, belonging to this part of the Union. I have nearly one 100 drawings of Water Birds ready for publication & I pronounce them equal to any previous ones. I am much pleased at the news you give me respecting Havell; I hope he will continue with hand and heart to do all in his power for the fame of our work, and for himself. We have not seen Nos. 34, 35, tho. from your letter we suppose them to be in New York. Wm. Oakes, I have written you, has paid all, up to No. 33; Arnold, of New Bedford, for all he has had; John Neal has his copy, but I do not know if he has yet paid Dr. Parkman, who is our kind friend and agent in that part of the Country. I wish you had forwarded first volumes bound, as you had those on hand, as several would have been disposed of and paid for by this time; do send all, or whatever of them you have ready, as soon as possible. It will be well for you to have friend Bachm's. paper published in toto, in some good circulating paper in London & Edinboro. Brushes! Brushes! Brushes! I am glad to hear of Kidd & Co.'s publication of Parrots, but I regret that my face should have been there from Syme's picture, which in my estimation is none of the best. Push Kidd with the pictures; have them, and take care of them. Sell all the Shells you please; write to John Adamson, of New Castle, about them, but keep smug all the Bird Skins. I cannot do without them when I write my Synopsis, which will be when I am with you. Our voyage round the Floridas, Gulph Mexico &c. will begin about the 1st. February. This will be my last journey, after which John and I will hunt for Subscribers, procure a round number, and join you as soon as possible. Your dear Mama will in all probability join you in May or June next. In about a fortnight I shall send you more land Birds for the end of the 2d. volume, extra small plates, and several numbers of Water Birds. I am anxious to hear something about the little edition. Do not omit to let me know when you want money, for tho. our expenses are always great, the Work must not, and shall not suffer, as long as my eyes and hands can work.
Dec. 23d., last evening, we had the pleasure of yours of the 28 Oct, and one from Havell of the 9th. Regarding Havell, we are glad that all is well with him, and hope he will not trouble us about extra prices, not even for the Water Birds. The safe arrival of my last drawings has relieved me of that anxiety. You are quite right on the score of advice. You in England, will do best to act as you may think proper. We, in America, are trying to do equally well, and our little Alliance is as efficient as the Holy one at least. That Subscribers should die is an event we cannot help; that such fellows as V. should act so cannot be controlled, but depend upon our industry, our truth, and the regular manner in which we publish our work; this will always prove to the world and to our Patrons that nothing more can be done than what we do; nay, I doubt if any family, with our pecuniary means, ever will raise for themselves such a monument as the "Birds of America" is, over their tomb.