172 AUDUBON, THE NATURALIST 



of all such parts as appertain to Birds, as soon as possible, 

 knowing (I think) that he will not undertake to publish them 

 himself under his present (I am sorry to say) embarrassed 

 pecuniary circumstances. Tell him that I want all about the 

 habits of any Birds which he has written upon, especially, 

 however, those found from the beginning of his journeys until 

 his return, and appertaining to species belonging to our fauna 

 or otherwise. Their exact measurements, dates, localities, 

 migratories or vice versa inclinations, descriptions of nests, 

 eggs &c. periods of breeding; in a word all that he can, or will 

 be pleased to send me — and you may assure Townsend, that all 

 he will confide to me will be published as coming from him, al- 

 though I may think fit to alter the phraseology in some in- 

 stances. Tell him to be extremely careful in naming his new 

 species, and that [if] he thinks of difficulties in this matter, to 

 leave it to me, as here I am able to see all the late published 

 works (and they are not a few) and work out the species with 

 more advantage than any one can at present in Philadelphia. 

 Do not take this as egotism far from it, it is in friendship and 

 for his sake that I venture on undertaking such an arduous 

 task. I am exceedingly [anxious] to receive a letter from him 

 (for Nuttall, though an excellent friend of mine and a most 

 worthy man, will not answer me in time on this subject) of all 

 the birds contained in the plates now at the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences in Philada., which he saw on the Rocky Mountains, 

 over those mountains, on the Columbia River and off the coast 

 of our Western boundaries. This I want much, and if he would 

 simply dictate to you plate 1, not there, plate 2, there, plate 3 

 there &c. &c. this would amply answer my purpose, and this I 

 wish you not to neglect to forward me as soon as possible by 

 duplicate! Of course I cannot speak upon any one of the new 

 species of which you speak until I have examined them all. To 

 talk of new species in London is a matter not now understood 

 in any part of America, and sorry will you be as well as him- 

 self, when I assure you that out of the twelve supposed to be, 

 and published by Dr. Morton, from Townsend's first cargo, not 

 more than six are actually undescribed, although I have taken 



