148 AUDUBON, THE NATURALIST 



and a mutual understanding, but "upon the least dif- 

 ficulty" each should choose one arbitrator, and the two 

 thus chosen were authorized to select a third; the part- 

 ners were bound to accept the decision thus reached 

 without appealing to any court. In the case of the 

 death of one of the associates, read the tenth "Article," 

 the survivor should have sole charge of making a set- 

 tlement of the business and should report to the proper 

 heirs. The survivor, in such an event, would be enti- 

 tled to a commission of ten per cent [in addition to his 

 one-half interest], but in no case should the partnership 

 be dissolved "until after nine years, counting from the 

 day of the date of the present [instrument]." As will 

 be seen, Audubon and Rozier were unable to fulfill all 

 the conditions thus carefully laid down. 



Young Audubon's dislike of Dacosta, the uncer- 

 tainty of the mining project, and other difficulties of 

 the situation soon decided the partners to cut short their 

 stay at "Mill Grove." Both were equally interested in 

 the lead mine, but after working several months with- 

 out success in an attempt to form a mining company, 

 they wisely decided to leave such experiments to the 

 enthusiastic Dacosta and to seek an opening in trade, 

 where the hazard would be no greater and their igno- 

 rance less profound. Following the advice of their 

 Quaker friend, Miers Fisher, they decided to sell to 

 Dacosta their remaining rights in "Mill Grove." As a 

 preliminary it was necessary to divide the property 

 which had been held in common by him and Lieutenant 

 Audubon since 1804, and this division was effected by 

 an agreement drawn up at Philadelphia on the fifth day 

 of September, 1806. 2 Ten days later the remainder 



2 Among the elder Rozier's papers was part of an old letterbook be- 

 longing to his son; it is written in French, and labeled "Correspondence 

 of Ferdinand Rozier." On one of the four sheets preserved this item 



