4 Bird -Lore 



three-quarters of a century the splendid paintings which adorn these works, 

 and which for spirit and vigor are still unsurpassed, have been the admira- 

 tion of the world. 



In addition to his more pretentious works, Audubon wrote a number of 

 minor articles and papers and left a series of Journals, since published by his 

 granddaughter, Miss Maria R. Audubon. The Journals are full to over- 

 flowing with observations of value to the naturalist, and, along with the 

 entertaining 'Episodes,' throw a flood of light on contemporary customs 

 and events — and incidentally are by no means to be lost sight of by the 

 historian. 



In searching for material for his books, Audubon traveled thousands of 

 miles afoot in various parts of the eastern states, from Maine to Louisiana; 

 he also visited Texas, Florida and Canada, crossed the ocean a number of 

 times, and conducted expeditions to far-away Labrador and the then remote 

 Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. When we remember the limited facilities 

 for travel in his day — the scarcity of railroads, steamboats and other con- 

 veniences — we are better prepared to appreciate the zeal, determination and 

 energy necessary to accomplish his self-imposed task. 



That it was possible for one man to do so much excellent field work, to 

 write so many meritorious volumes, and to paint such a multitude of 

 remarkable pictures must be attributed in no small part to his rare physical 

 strength — for do not intellectual and physical vigor usually go hand in hand 

 and beget power of achievement? Audubon was noted for these qualities. 

 As a worker he was rapid, absorbed, and ardent; he began at daylight and 

 labored continuously till night, averaging fourteen hours a day, and. it is said, 

 allowed only four hours for sleep. 



In American ornithology, in which he holds so illustrious a place, it was 

 not his privilege to be in the strict sense a pioneer, for before him were 

 Vieillot, Wilson and Bonaparte ; and contemporaneous with him were 

 Richardson, Nuttall, Maximilian Prince of Wied, and a score of lesser and 

 younger lights — some of whom were destined to shine in the near future. 



Audubon was no closet naturalist — the technicalities of the profession he 

 left to others — but as a field naturalist he was at his best and had few equals. 

 He was a born woodsman, a lover of wild nature in the fullest sense, a keen 

 observer, an accurate recorder, and, in addition, possessed the rare gift 

 of instilling into his writings the freshness of nature and the vivacity and 

 enthusiasm of his own personality. 



His influence was not confined to devotees of the natural sciences, for 

 in his writings and paintings, and in his personal contact with men of aflfairs, 

 both in this country and abroad, he exhaled the freshness, the vigor, the 

 spirit of freedom and progress of America — and who shall attempt to meas- 

 ure the value of this influence to our young republic? 



Audubon's preeminence is due, not alone to his skill as a painter of birds 



