86 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 71. 



the journey, as Ord has hinted, is another matter. Its chief 

 fault seems to lie in its length, excessive detail and more than 

 occasional careless composition. That it has been appreciated, 

 the several editions would seem to attest.^ No account of his 

 life is complete without at least a synopsis of it, especially as 

 he has assured us that all the incidents are substantial facts, 

 and then it was the first and only extensive trip he ever made 

 purely for pleasure. 



Early in October, 1804, accompanied by Isaac Leech, the son 

 of his landlady, and his nephew, William Duncan, he left 

 Philadelphia on foot for Niagara Falls. 



" The coru stood topped, there pumpkins strewed the ground. 

 And driving clouds of blackbirds wheeled around. 

 Far to the south our warblers had withdrawn, 

 'Slow" sailed the thistle-down along the lawn, 

 High on the hedge-rows, pendant over head, 

 Th' enibow'ring vines their purple clusters spread. 

 The buckwheat flails re-echoed from the hill, 

 The creaking cider-press was busier still ; 

 Red through the smoky air the wading sun 

 Sunk into fog ere half the day was done ; 

 The air was mild, the roads embrowned and dry, 

 Soft, meek-eyed Indian Summer ruled the sky." 

 ^The Foresters ; A Poem : Description of a Pedestrian Journey to 

 the Falls of Niagara, In the Autumn of 1803 [corrected to " ISOi " 

 in Vol. Ill, p. 159]. By the Author of American Ornithology, <The 

 Port Folio, A monthly Magazine Devoted to Useful Science, the 

 Liberal Arts, Legitimate Criticism, and Polite Literature: Con- 

 ducted by Oliver Oldschool, P]sq. Associated by a Confederacy of 

 Men of Letters. [Vol. I, June, 1809— Vol. Ill, March, 1810]. Pub- 

 lished by Bradfoi'd & Inskeep, Philadpl]»hia. and In>;keep and Brad- 

 ford, New York, Klnio. 



The Foresters : A I'oem, descriptive of a I'edestrian Journey to 

 the Falls of Niagara, in the autumn of 1804. By the Author of 

 American Ornithology, =:Newton [Buck's Co., Pa.]. Published by 

 S. Siegfried & J. Wilson in June, 1818. > The Foresters, A Poem, 

 Copyrighted, Simon Siegfried, Printer', 16mo. pp. 5-100. 



Ibid. Paisley, Scotland, Published by J. Frazer, Bookseller. 1825. 

 Ibid. By Alexander Wilson, author of American Ornithology, — 

 Westchester, Pa. Printed by Joseph I*ainter:=1838. lOmo, pp. 5- 

 lOG. 



Ibid. IMiiladeli)hia, 1853. 



