70 Audubon's Western Journal 



generously refused any compensation for what he 

 had recovered, saying we had suffered enough. 



The "Tom McKinney" which had taken our 

 party to Roma brought back eighteen or twenty of 

 •the men on the way back to New Orleans, At 

 first I thought they had returned to be of some 

 assistance, but judge of my disappointment when 

 I learned the truth. The Bensons, Bradys, Barclay, 

 Tallman, Follen, Cowden, Ely and others were 

 determined to go home. The Bensons came to me 

 and said they were sorry to leave me, but they 

 found they were not fit for such a journey as they 

 had undertaken; many of the others went with a 

 simple "Good-bye," and some did not even come 

 up the hill to see me, and among these were some 

 of whom I did not expect it. Walker, especially, 

 for I thought a good deal of him, and had entrusted 

 him with the care of the sick on their way to Roma ; 

 he never sent me any reason for not bidding me 

 good-bye, but I attributed it to the sudden news of 

 Harrison's death. 



Desolate, indeed, did I feel as I watched the 

 boat start on her return trip taking some of my very 

 best men, or those I had thought were such, and I 

 realized how little one can judge from appearances 

 or when all is going smoothly. I was now left 

 with only Simson, Clement, John Stevens, Nic 

 Walsh, Mitchell and Elmslie, with Shipman very 

 ill. We were, however, encouraged by good 



