THE SWAMPS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 29 



to desciibe an Excursion which I made into the Swamps of the Mississippi, 

 in the end of 1850. 



Before doing so, I will endeavour to outline a few prior circumstances and 

 observations, which, I hope, may not be considered irrelevant. 



I presume it is generally known that my pursuits, on the American Con- 

 tinent, and over a gi-eat part of the West Indies, were entirely Ornitholo- 

 gical. The desire to see the American Birds was principally acquired from 

 reading the fascinating and brilliant discriptions given of them by Wilson; 

 a name familiar to all of you, and which ought to be so to every Scotchman. 

 His incomparable description of the Mocking Bird, {Turdus polyglottus,) 

 completely wrecked ray mercantile ideas, and upset the entire science of 

 pounds, shillings, and pence, with me. And as this occurred early in the 

 spring of 1849, I immediately set about getting my guns in order,* and 

 buckling some old clothes together. So that, in place of being found 

 balancing my profit and loss accounts, on the 3 1st December, perched on a 

 three-legged stool, in the city of Glasgow ; I was wandering alone, through 

 some of the western forests, far beyond the Mississippi, robbing the nests 

 of the Guinea, the Downj', the Haiiy, and the Golden-winged Woodpecker, 

 and procuring specimens of the birds themselves. And such specimens, 

 too, as can onlj^ be appreciated by being seen in the Academy of Science, in 

 the city of Philadelphia. A collection which, on that continent, has no 

 equal; and I question much if finer or more beautiful specimens are in tlie 

 possession of any other Institution in the world. The members of this 

 Institution, I am bound to say, are the very essence of courtesy ; for not 

 only do you obtain immediate admission, on application to any of them, but 

 a request to be permitted to accompany you over it, for the -purpose of 

 pointing out the most remarkable objects, is not uncommon 



It is in this city that Alexander Wilson is buried, whose grave I visited 

 very early the fii-st morning after my arrival in Philadelphia; a rough 

 sketch of which I have at present in my hand, and also some blades of grass 

 which I pulled beside it. (See The Naturalist, vol. iii., p. 80.) 



Were I competent to go into detail on the difterent Orders, Families, and 

 Genera, not only of the department of science which came under nij^ obser- 

 vation, but of others closely allied, I am afraid it wouhl consume too much 

 of the valuable time of this meeting, besides reminding myself of the 

 opinion expressed by the author of " The Siege of Londonderry," who pro- 

 nounced the work to be " a burden for an ass to carry." I have no 

 intention, however, to trespass further upon your time, than to explain the 

 appearance of that swampy region, and to give a general description of the 



*I carried three guns with me during my travels ; and, with few exceptions, I invariably used a double 

 gun, made for me by Mr. David Young, gunsmith, in Glasgow, whose excellence as a practical U-adesmau is 

 of the first class. His work, both as regards quality and finish, was thoroughly tested by the variety of 

 work which this gun had to perform; and during which, neither a nail, nipple, nor spring gave way. 



