Burns — On Alexander Wilson. 169 



States." Thus the first two plates of his American Ornitho- 

 logy were produced by the author himself in a fairly creditable 

 manner, but fell short of his own expectations ; and as neither 

 Lawson nor Bartram were prepared to assume a part of the 

 sacrifice the series of engraved and colored plates would entail, 

 his resolution of proceeding aloiie "even if it should cost him 

 his life," was necessarily held in abeyance until he could find 

 a publisher or the means of publishing it himself. 



Wilson next ofl^ered his services in the interest of Natural 

 science to the President, having heard of a proposed expedition 

 under Captain' Zebulan M. Pike to the Arkansas and Red 

 rivers, to which he was desirous of being attached ; but noth- 

 ing came of it. In fact Jefferson .never received his application 

 and enclosed recommendation from Bartram. This expedi- 

 tion, which was a purely military one, comprising two lieu- 

 tenants, one surgeon, one sergeant, two corporals, sixteen 

 privates, and one interpreter ; departed from near St. Louis 

 on July loth, 1800. 



However, the near future had something better in store for 

 him. On April 1st, after ten stormy years of pedagoging, he 

 resigned to accept the assistant editorship of a revised edition 

 of Ree's New Cyclopaedia, about to be published in 23 quarto 

 volumes by the firm of Samuel F. Bradford in Philadelphia. 

 The articles of agreement were signed on the 20th. His duties 

 seem to have been a critical reading of a former edition, mak- 

 ing additions and corrections before going to press ; proof 

 reading and general supervision. Leslie states that he also 

 served as tutor to Mr. Bradford's sous. His salary of $900, 

 was extremely liberal for that period, no doubt. It was not 

 long before he had a favorable hearing with his employer, in 

 the interest of his cherished plan of an American Ornithology. 

 By his agreement it appears that he was to furnish all of the 

 drawings and the text for the work, and the publishers were 

 to advance the funds for the mechanical execution and adver- 

 tisement. Wilson was about to realize his dreams of fame, but 

 at ani enormous sacrifice, entailing journeys through an un- 

 developed country aggregating over ten thousand miles, re- 



