58 Deane, Letters of J. J. Audubon and S. F. Baird. [ Jan 



days to go. I will send a notice of the transmission to Hall Brothers 1 

 when I send it off. 



Yours sincerely 



Spencer F. Baird. 

 John J. Audubon Esq. 

 77 William St. 

 New York. 



Baird to Audubon. 



Carlisle August 4th. 1845. 

 My dear Mr. Audubon 



It is with sincerest regret that I see by the papers that your cop- 

 per plates 2 were injured or perhaps ruined by the fire which occured 

 a few weeks ago. Various reports are circulated respecting your 

 loss, and among so many contradictory ones it is difficult to get at 

 the truth of the case. Might I ask you to let me know the truth 

 of the matter. I would have answered your last letter long ago, 

 but was waiting for information respecting the Northern hare, for 

 which I have applied to several persons in different parts of the 

 state. None has come in yet, but I hope to get some before long. 

 The animal is not found in this county & is very rare in the one 

 north of this. In Huntingdon Centre, Clearfield Co. they are 

 more common. I wrote to my friend in Texas about the large 

 prairie hare, & I hope he will be able to render the proper account 

 of it. I called his attention also to the other quadrupeds of the 

 country, and I hope to hear from him soon, & expect that he will 



1 Hall Bros., Merchants and Importers, 43 Beaver St., New York. 



2 The copper-plates, engraved by Robert Havell, for the folio edition of 'Birds 

 of America,' were stored in a New York warehouse in 1845, where many of them 

 were seriously damaged by fire. Miss M. R. Audubon writes me that in 1851-52, 

 when her grandfather's new house was built, a fireproof vault, detached from the 

 other buildings, was put up for them, and there they remained until after the 

 death of her father in 1862, when they were sold. Two of these plates, in perfect 

 condition, are now in Miss Audubon's home at Salem, N. Y. They represent the 

 Great White Heron and Snow Goose. Six plates, in the Smithsonian Institution 

 at Washington, D. C, represent the Robin, Chuck-wills-widow, Bob-white, Great 

 Blue Heron, Scarlet Ibis, and Whooping Crane. Nine plates, in the American 

 Museum of Natural History, New York City, represent the Canada Goose, 

 Hutchins's Goose, Mallard, Turkey (female), Loon, Snowy Owl, Hawk Owl, 

 Harris's Hawk, and Black-footed Albatross. There are several other plates in 

 private hands at Ansonia, Conn. (R. D.) 



