The Audubon Reader (7 page)

In Virginia and probably as far as New York they not unfrequently raise two broods, sometimes three, in a season. My learned friend, Professor [Thomas] Nuttall of [Harvard University] Massachusetts, thinks that the Pewee seldom raises more than one brood in the year in that state.

This species ejects the hard particles of the wings, legs, abdomen and other parts of insects in small pellets in the manner of owls, goatsuckers and swallows.

[The Pewee Flycatcher (Eastern Phoebe),
Sayornis phoebe
, appears in Plate 120 of
The Birds of America
.]

Fatland Ford, Pennsylvania

17 April 1808

My dear Cousin,

I should have written to you sooner but the difficulty of sending letters to England is much increased by the embargo on all American vessels & no ship has sailed from Philadelphia for Europe since that measure was enforced.

You have no doubt heard of the embarrassment which it has occasioned amongst the Merchants & you would be much concerned to hear of my brother [Benjamin] being under the necessity of stopping payment. He has the mortification to find his past labors fruitless & that he must begin the world anew.

I went over to New York to see what was best to be done & it was concluded to assign his effects over to Mr. Page & Mr. Kinder, two of his friends who will dispose of his property so as if possible to avoid the loss which at this time would ensue from a preemptory sale. He has suffered much uneasiness of mind & I was afraid of his health for some time but he is now recovered & appears tolerably reconciled to his situation. He seems to dislike engaging in a commercial life & proposes to become a cotton planter in the Southern or Western states, should he be able to manage the purchase of a plantation. If to
deserve
success was to
command
it he would not have failed, but you know him & I need not say more on this point.

My daughter Lucy was married the 5th of this month [to John James Audubon] & on the 8th she left us for Louisville in Kentucky. I informed you that Mr. Audubon went last autumn to look out a situation for trade & he has fixed on that place as the best adapted for it. It is situated on the Ohio River at what are called
the rapids (i.e., some rocks which obstruct the navigation & the vessels are often detained there till the river rises).

She went in the stage coach to Pittsburgh 300 miles; from there they sail down the Ohio in boats 700 miles to their place of destination. It is a formidable undertaking & I wish it had suited her to be nearer us, but smaller circumstances must give way to greater.

Mr. Audubon is entered into partnership with a Mr. Rozier, a native of the same town (Nantes), a young man of good character & property & I hope they will succeed. They have purchased a considerable quantity of merchandise which together with Lucy’s furniture (i.e., such kinds as are not too bulky for carriage) are conveyed by wagons to Pittsburgh & from there down the river to Louisville. Mr. Rozier is a single man & proposes to board with Mr. A. for the present.

[My son] Thomas is in New Orleans. He sailed from New York a little before this unfortunate affair [i.e., the Embargo] in a ship of my brother’s with a cargo of merchandise chiefly French such as claret, olive oil & some manufactories. He has met with good sale for them, & Mr. Kinder (the gentleman before mentioned) has sent him from New York a second cargo. Thomas was by agreement with my brother to have half the profits of the adventure & Mr. K. has sent his on the same terms.

It is not a very common case that a youth not yet twenty years of age should have sufficient judgment & stability to be entrusted with such a charge but my brother & Mr. K. have full confidence in him & I hope he will augment himself to their satisfaction.

As New Orleans is liable to the yellow fever in autumn Thomas proposes to return by land & will come by the way of Louisville & see how Lucy goes on. The rest of my young people are now at home …

Louisville, Kentucky

27 May 1808

My dear Cousin,

My papa has, I imagine, before this time informed you of my change of situation. My marriage took place in the beginning of April. I soon afterwards left home and entered on my new duties. As yet they have been light and be they what they may I hope I shall ever cheerfully perform them. I wish you were acquainted with the partner of my destiny. It is useless to say more of him to you at so great a distance, than that he has most excellent dispositions which add very much to the happiness of married life. I wish, my dear cousin, you could have enjoyed the variety [of] beautiful prospects we did on our journey without partaking of the fatigues. However, considering the length of it I must not complain. We traveled something more than three hundred miles by land and seven hundred by water. You will form some idea of the roads when I tell you that the first day we traveled seventy miles, set out at four in the morning and arrived at the inn about seven in the evening, and every day afterwards, traveling the same number of hours, we could only go between thirty and forty. Unfortunately, we had rain most of the way, as I intended to walk a great deal, for whilst the stage is going either up or down the mountains they move as slowly forwards as possible, but the great stones beneath the wheels make the stage coach rock about most dreadfully.

After the two first days we commenced climbing the mountains. We crossed the low mountains, the Allegheny, the Laurel, the Sidling and many others which are very stony and disagreeable to pass through. They are not mentioned in the maps. The Cove Mount is the highest, I think, that we passed and also the most stony, though there is a great deal more said of the Allegheny mountain. We stayed at Pittsburgh two weeks. It is situated at the extremity of Pennsylvania just at the junction of three rivers, the Allegheny, [Monongahela] and Ohio. High mountains on all sides
environ
Pittsburgh, and a thick fog is almost constant over the town, which is rendered still more disagreeable by the dust from a dirty sort of coal that is universally burnt. Coal is found at the surface of the earth in the neighborhood of this place, which is really the blackest looking place I ever saw. There are many nail manufactories carried on here, which supply the inland states of this country, also iron castings, tin ware, and glass manufactured. There is great trade carried on between Pittsburgh and New Orleans by means of the rivers Ohio and Mississippi as well as many other places situated on the banks of those rivers. The seven hundred miles by water was performed without much fatigue though not without some disagreeables. Our conveyance was a large square or rather oblong boat; but perfectly flat on all sides; and just high enough to admit a person walking upright. There are no sails made use of owing to the many turns on the river which brings the wind from every quarter in the course of an hour or two. The boat is carried along by the current, and in general without the least motion, but one day we had as high a wind as to make some of us feel a little seasick. Bread, beer and hams we bought at Pittsburgh, but poultry, eggs and milk can always be had from the farmhouses on the banks.

There are not many extensive prospects on the river as the shores are in general bounded by high rocks covered with woods. However I was gratified by the sight of a great variety of foliage and flowers. There are many small towns on the way, some of which we stopped at. Mr. Audubon regretted he had not his drawing implements with him as he would have taken some views for you. However, there are some well worth taking in this neighborhood when he has got a little more settled and arranged his business. We traveled generally all right, and reached the place of our future residence which is a very pleasantly situated place. The country round is rather flat, but the land is very fertile. I cannot quite tell how I shall like Louisville as I have only been here three weeks and have not yet got a house, but I have received every attention from the inhabitants … Where we board we have very accommodating people … We are as private as we please … Most of the houses here have gardens adjoining, and some of them are very prettily laid out indeed. Vegetation is a month or six weeks forwarded here
than in Pennsylvania or New York State. I am very sorry there is no library here or book store of any kind for I have very few of my own and as Mr. Audubon is constantly at the store, I should often enjoy a book very much whilst I am alone …

Beargrass Creek, which is one of the many beautiful streams of the highly cultivated and happy state of Kentucky, meanders through a deeply shaded growth of majestic beech woods in which are interspersed various species of walnut, oak, elm, ash and other trees extending on either side of its course. The spot on which I witnessed the celebration of an anniversary of the glorious proclamation of our independence is situated on its banks, near the city of Louisville. The woods spread their dense tufts towards the shores of the fair Ohio on the west and over the gently rising grounds to the south and east. Every open spot forming a plantation was smiling in the luxuriance of a summer harvest. The farmer seemed to stand in admiration of the spectacle: the trees of his orchards bowed their branches as if anxious to restore to their mother earth the fruit with which they were laden; the flocks leisurely ruminated as they lay on their grassy beds; and the genial warmth of the season seemed inclined to favor their repose.

The free, single hearted Kentuckian, bold, erect and proud of his Virginian descent, had as usual made arrangements for celebrating the day of his country’s independence. The whole neighborhood joined with one consent. No personal invitation was required where everyone was welcomed by his neighbor, and from the governor to the guider of the plough all met with light hearts and merry faces.

It was indeed a beautiful day; the bright sun rode in the clear blue
heavens; the gentle breezes wafted around the odors of the gorgeous flowers; the little birds sang their sweetest songs in the woods and the fluttering insects danced in the sunbeams. Columbia’s sons and daughters seemed to have grown younger that morning. For a whole week or more, many servants and some masters had been busily engaged in clearing an area. The undergrowth had been carefully cut down, the low boughs lopped off and the grass alone, verdant and gay, remained to carpet the sylvan pavilion. Now the wagons were seen slowly moving along under their load of provisions, which had been prepared for the common benefit. Each denizen had freely given his ox, his ham, his venison, his turkeys and other fowls. Here were to be seen flagons of every beverage used in the country; “la belle rivière” had opened her finny stores; the melons of all sorts, peaches, plums and pears, would have sufficed to stock a market. In a word, Kentucky, the land of abundance, had supplied a feast for her children.

A purling stream gave its waters freely, while the grateful breezes cooled the air. Columns of smoke from the newly-kindled fires rose above the trees; fifty cooks or more moved to and fro as they plied their trade; waiters of all qualities were disposing the dishes, the glasses and the punch-bowls amid vases filled with rich wines. “Old Monongahela” filled many a [whiskey] barrel for the crowd. And now the roasting viands perfume the air and all appearances conspire to predict the speedy commencement of a banquet such as may suit the vigorous appetite of American woodsmen. Every steward is at his post, ready to receive the joyous groups that at this moment begin to emerge from the dark recesses of the woods.

Each comely fair one, clad in pure white, is seen advancing under the protection of her sturdy lover, the neighing of their prancing steeds proclaiming how proud they are of their burden. The youthful riders leap from their seats and the horses are speedily secured by twisting their bridles round a branch. As the youth of Kentucky lightly and gaily advanced towards the barbecue they resembled a procession of nymphs and disguised divinities. Fathers and mothers smiled upon them as they followed the brilliant cortege. In a short time the grove was alive with merriment. A great wooden cannon, bound with iron hoops, was now crammed with homemade powder; fire was conveyed to it by means of a
[powder] train, and as the explosion burst forth, thousands of hearty huzzas mingled with its echoes. From the most learned a good oration fell in proud and gladdening words on every ear, and although it probably did not equal the eloquence of a Clay, an Everett, a Webster or a Preston, it served to remind every Kentuckian present of the glorious name, the patriotism, the courage and the virtue of our immortal Washington. Fifes and drums sounded the march which had ever led him to glory; and as they changed to our celebrated “Yankee Doodle” the air again rang with acclamations.

Now the stewards invited the assembled throng to the feast. The fair led the van and were first placed around the tables, which groaned under the profusion of the best productions of the country that had been heaped upon them. On each lovely nymph attended her gay beau, who in her chance or sidelong glances ever watched an opportunity of reading his happiness. How the viands diminished under the action of so many agents of destruction I need not say, nor is it necessary that you should listen to the long recital. Many a national toast was offered and accepted, many speeches were delivered and many essayed in amicable reply. The ladies then retired to booths that had been erected at a little distance, to which they were conducted by their partners, who returned to the table and having thus cleared for action, recommenced a series of hearty rounds. However, as Kentuckians are neither slow nor long at their meals, all were in a few minutes replenished, and after a few more draughts from the bowl, they rejoined the ladies, and prepared for the dance.