VICTOR, THE SON OF AUDUBON 73 



and son studied birds together. Something new almost 

 dailv would awaken their curiosity, and it became a matter 

 of life to them to follow it up, and the wonder of bird-life 

 grew. Victor was becoming another Wilson. 



The partridge builds her nest in hiding, but the hiding- 

 place is often near roads and lanes as though there might 

 be protection in the open, as a good woman once hid her 

 money in an. open jar on the shelf. No one would look 

 for it there. The bird can be captured by the hand when 

 brooding or fighting. She will allow the scythe to strike 

 her in the grass of the hay-field. 



One day they heard a partridge drumming. Victor 

 stole away, and after hours returned in cheerful excite- 

 ment and said: 



" She does it with her wings; her body is her drum." 



The two would come out of the forests on Independence 

 or training days, when their home was in Kentucky. The 

 American flag stood for the liberty of the world, and 

 they would stop and hail it together on the verge of the 

 forest. 



Audubon loved the old Fourth of July, when the peo- 

 ple of the towns assembled to celebrate Independence day 

 in the woods. The flag waving in the summer air thrilled 

 him. He admired the white-headed eagle, not as a bird 

 of prey, but of independence, as an emblem of freedom. 



To gather with the Kentucky merrymakers in some 

 great clearing in the woods on Fourths of July was a de- 



