92 IN THE DAYS OF AUDUBON 



come obscured; my horse brought his feet to the natural 

 position, raised his head, and galloped off as if loose and 

 frolicking without a rider. 



" I was not, however, without great apprehension re- 

 specting my family, from whom I was many miles distant, 

 fearful that where they were the shock might have caused 

 greater havoc than I had witnessed. I gave the bridle to 

 my steed, and was glad to see him appear as anxious to get 

 home as myself. The pace at which he galloped accom- 

 plished this sooner than I had expected, and I found, with 

 much pleasure, that hardly any greater harm had taken 

 place than the apprehension excited for my own safety. 

 Shock succeeded shock almost every day or night for sev- 

 eral weeks, diminishing, however, so gradually as to dwindle 

 away into mere vibrations of the earth. Strange to say, I 

 for one became so accustomed to the feeling as rather to 

 enjoy the fears manifested by others. I never can forget 

 the effects of one of the slighter shocks which took place 

 when I was at a friend's house, where I had gone to enjoy 

 the merriment that in our Western country attends a wed- 

 ding. The ceremony being performed, supper over, and 

 the fiddles tuned, dancing became the order of the moment. 

 This was merrily followed up to a late hour, when the 

 party retired to rest. We were in what is called, with great 

 propriety, a log house; one of large dimensions and solidly 

 constructed. The owner was a physician, and in one corner 

 were not only his lancets, tourniquets, amputating knives, 



