Francis Hobart Herrick

“ When I publish my Life and let the world know that Audubon like Wilson, was at Phila. without the half of a Dollar, and that had it not been for benevolent generosity of a certain Gentleman whose name is Edward Harris, Audubon must have walked off from one of the fairest of our Cities like a beggar does in poor Ireland, left destitute of all things save his humble talents, and his determination to produce something worthy of the soul of man: I say my dear Harris will not the world stare! ”

“ Ornithology is, as a science, pursued by very few persons—and by none in this city. How gratifying was it, then, to become acquainted with a man, who knew more about birds than any man now living—and who, at the same time, was communicative, intelligent, and amiable, to an extent seldom found associated in the same individual. He has convinced me that I was but a novice in the study; and besides receiving many lessons from him in Ornithology, he has taught me how much can be accomplished by a single individual, who will unite enthusiasm with industry. ”

“ Audubon has not contented himself with single profile views, but in many instances has grouped his figures, so as to represent the originals in their natural avocations, and has placed them on branches of trees decorated with foliage, blossoms and fruits, or amidst plants of numerous species—some are seen pursuing their prey in the air, searching for food amongst the leaves and herbage, sitting on their nests, or feeding their young; whilst others, of a different nature, swim, wade, or glide in or over their allotted element. ”

“ Distinguished and handsome in age, appearing to many older than he actually was, for years his snowy locks and benign countenance attracted every passer on the street, and for each he had a friendly look, word, or greeting, until in him were fulfilled the words of the Psalmist: "When thou art young thou goest whither thou willest, but when thou art old another shall lead thee, and thou shalt go whither thou willest not." On the 27th of January, 1851, Jean Jacques Fougère Audubon died, before attaining his sixty-seventh year, "as gently as a child composing himself for his beautiful sleep." ”

“ The tall and somewhat stooping form, the clothes not made by a West-end but by a Far West tailor, the steady, rapid, springing step, the long hair, the aquiline features, and the glowing angry eyes,—the expression of a handsome man conscious of ceasing to be young, and an air and manner which told you that whoever you might be he was John Audubon, will never be forgotten by anyone who knew or saw him. ”

“ The life I lead is my vocation, full of smooth and rough paths, like every vocation which men variously try. My physical constitution has always been good, and the fine flow of 14 spirits I have, has often greatly assisted me in some of the most trying passages of my life. I know I am engaged in an arduous undertaking; but if I live to complete it, I will offer to my country a beautiful monument of the varied splendour of American nature, and of my devotion to American ornithology.
John James Audubon. ”

“ For many years Audubon had expressed great contempt for all seekers after priority in the naming of new species of animals, but now he began to find the pressure from without too strong to be resisted. Rivalry in this field had become keen on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the commendable desire to render his work as complete as possible, he was inevitably drawn into a struggle in which the higher aspirations of scientific men are all too apt to be obscured by petty vanities, suspicions and disputes. ”

“ Notwithstanding the momentous changes which the extension of upper New York City has effected both above and below ground during the recent era of rapid transportation, the old Audubon houses still remain, like boulders amid stream, the impact of the city which has flowed around and beyond them being checked for the moment by a rampart of solid masonry, the retaining wall of the far-famed Riverside Drive, which rises above Audubon's old house close to its rear veranda and there makes a wide turn. For Mr. Grinnell this was a return to the scenes of his boyhood ”

“ Honest John Bachman, who had lived and worked 63 with Audubon for months at a time, and who probably knew him better than did any one in America outside of the naturalist's own family, gave this account of his habits in 1834, when, at the age of forty-nine, he was still working at his best:
He rises at the earliest dawn, and devotes the whole of the day, in intense industry, to his favourite pursuit. ”

“ The place came to possess a good garden and orchard, with stable, dairy, and poultry yards; enclosures also were made for deer, elk, wolves, foxes and other wild animals. The old barn of the Audubon place stood higher on the slope where the naturalist built his studio or painting house, but no traces of either now exist. Though standing low, the house commanded a wide sweep of the river with the Palisades on its opposite shore, and such attractive surroundings were a never failing source of delight and inspiration to the naturalist to his dying day. ”

“ It is a highly interesting and spirited narrative from beginning to end, and abounds in graphic pictures of the Indians and trappers, the military posts and pioneer settlements, the abundant bird life and big game, the biggest of which, the buffalo, was then seen by Audubon in a state of nature for the first time, the grand and turbulent rivers, and the smiling or frowning face of the great wilderness so soon to be changed by the devastating hands of civilized man. ”

“ The bearer of this, John James Audubon, is a native citizen of the United States, who has informed me of his intention of travelling on the continent of America, chiefly to promote the cause of science by researches in natural history. He is known to me to be a naturalist of eminent acquirements and estimation, a man of character and honor and worthy of all personal respect and regard. ”

“ The triangle of ground between Riverside Drive and the Hudson River should be spared by the proud city that for years was the home of America's pioneer naturalist and animal painter, as well as the scene of his youthful experiments in trade, and converted into a true "Audubon Park." ”

“ Baird answered Audubon's letter on June 20, and proffered his services in collecting mammals, saying that while they were more difficult to find than birds, he hoped "by increased exertion to make up the difference"; he also added: "I have seen some numbers of your work now publishing, and admire them very much. I have no doubt that it will do more to spread a love of Natural history, than any work ever published. For my part I read the description of birds and the episodes in your Ornithological Biography with the same motive of pleasure as I used to read a favorite novel." ”

“ All hands half dead, and masters as nearly exhausted as the hands—stiffened with cold, light-clothed, and but slight hope of our nearing any shore; our only resort was, to leap into the mire, waste-deep, and to push the barque to a point, some five hundred or six hundred yards, where a few scrubby trees seem to have grown to save our lives on this occasion. "Push, boys, push! Push for your lives!", cry the generous Bulow, and the poor Audubon.—"All hands push!" ”

“ The specimens from which he makes his drawings are all from nature; carefully noting the colors of the eye, bill, and legs; measuring, with great accuracy, every part of the bird. When differences exist, either in the sexes or young, several figures are given on the same plate; sparing no labour in retouching old drawings or in making new ones, in all cases where he conceives there may be a possibility of making an improvement. In this way, he has already succeeded in figuring nearly the whole of the birds necessary to complete his splendid and important work. ”

“ An erect old man, with long white hair, glanced his strong bright eye as coldly over the glowing, smoking desolation, as an eagle would, who watched the sunrise chasing mists up from the valley. J. J. Audubon looks over the grave of the labor of forty years!
The Plates of the Birds of America are buried beneath those smoldering piles! Ye money changers dare not break the stillness with a sob, though the last cent of your sordid hoards be gone! ... go away! Ye have lost nothing!... Yet that dauntless old man is not dismayed ”

“ When I tell you that he was an old friend of Alexander Wilson, that he shoots well, is an ornithologist, a philosophical naturalist, and that during the time we enjoyed his hospitality, he took us all over the country with his carriages and servants, in search of specimens, and that he was every thing a kind brother could be to me, you may suppose that it is with great sincerity I say, and ever shall say, God bless him! ”

“ So you are going to write a book 'tis a thing of little moment for one who is not known, because they have no reputation to loose, but much will be expected from you, and you must, therefore, as the saying is, put your best leg foremost. I am coming fast round to the prejudice, as you may think it, against the Americans.
Dr. Richardson's and my own volume on the Arctic Birds, is now in press. Not being able to refer to your plates, I have not had the power to quote your work, you know how repeatedly I have applied on this head, both to you and Mr. Havell in vain. ”

“ The greatest portion of my life has been devotedly spent in the active investigation of Nature, her beauties & her objects in granting to different individuals, classes, or species, such privileges as best suit their form, situation, or habits. This arduous task I have followed with unremitting diligence, and with a degree of industry that has caused to my family and to myself more troubles than any person in Philadelphia can be aware of. ”

“ Je donne et lègue à Monsieur Jean AUDUBON, mon mari, la jouissance en toute propriété des biens meubles et celle en usufruit des biens immeubles qui m'appartiendront à l'instant de mon décès, pour qu'à l'un et l'autre titre de cette epoque, il en jouisse fasse et dispose comme de tous ses autres biens sans être tenu d'en donner caution, voulant et entendant qu'il puisse faire sur les immeubles tous changements, coupes de bois et autres qu'il lui plaira, le tout avec dispense des dommages et intérêts. ”

“ Waterton prided himself on his knowledge of these reptiles, and certainly was not lacking in self-confidence. According to his own account, he went eleven months in the forests of Brazil without shoe or stocking to his foot, and on a certain occasion in London secured with his hands and removed from its cage a live rattlesnake; but, like so many sophisticated writers on natural history, he took to analogy like a duck to water. ”

“ Webster, who was an ardent sportsman and well acquainted with the water fowl of the coast, had volunteered to procure for Audubon specimens of the Labrador Duck, which was even then extremely rare and has since become extinct, but was unable to fulfill his promise. Audubon had already found that many American birds, like the common crow, which had been regarded as identical with those of the Old World, were in reality distinct, and was now anxious, as he wrote to Thomas Brewer, "to compare the anatomy of all our birds with those of the same families in Europe." ”

“ Cheer up, my beloved Victor! Believe me, when I repeat that our own Dear Country will support the efforts of us all, and will grant us more Patrons than the whole of Europe together; by the way of a nightcap, let me give you the name of Wm. J. Rees, of Sumpter district, Statesbury, South Carolina, who put his name to my list this afternoon at the moment when the Vultures lost their olfactory powers, for I daubed the imitation of a sheep, and the very first one that passed over the picture rounded and came to it. ”

“ If some species are to draw the next day, and the weather is warm, they are outlined that same evening, to save them from incipient putridity. I have ascertained that feathers lose their brilliancy almost as rapidly as flesh or skin itself, and am of opinion that a bird alive is 75 per cent more rich in colours than twenty-four hours after its death; we therefore skin those first which have been first killed, and the same evening. All this, added to our other avocations, brings us into the night pretty well fatigued. Such, my dear friend, is the life of an active naturalist ”

“ John Gould is said to have left a fortune of eighty thousand pounds.
Probably no class of men with kindred tastes are bound together with stronger ties of good fellowship than the naturalists. Their free-masonry extends to every clime and race, and knows no distinction of language, class or station; but, as with all serious workers, occasional jealousies or disputes occur to ruffle the serenity of their lives. ”

“ We procured many eggs for you—ay, a great number—and as soon as we reach New York I will make up a large box, and take it to you myself.... One thing that will interest you most, as it did me, is that we found west of the Mississippi many species of ducks breeding as contented as if in latitude 68° north. There is, after all, nothing like seeing things or countries to enable one to judge of their peculiarities, and I now feel satisfied that through the want of these means many erroneous notions remain in scientific works that can not otherwise be eradicated. ”

“ Nothing is more valuable to a naturalist, and particularly to an ornithologist, than the first hours of the day; therefore, long ere the sun had glowed over the broad sea that lay before our camp, we had reached another island where birds resort to roost by thousands; but, notwithstanding these multitudes, not a new species did we procure. ”

“ Audubon and MacGillivray finished their work in November, and by the first of December the manuscript of the second volume of the Ornithological Biography was in the printer's hands. On the 10th of the latter month Audubon wrote to Bachman from Edinburgh: "I am quite sure I never have been half as anxious as I am at this moment to do all in my power to compleat my vast enterprise, and sorrowful indeed would be my dying moments if this book of mine were not finished ere my eyes are for ever closed." ”