JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 113 

 In November Audubon is again at the 

 house of his friend Dr. Bachman, in 

 Charleston, South Carolina. Here he 

 passed the winter of 1836-7, making 

 excursions to various points farther 

 south, going as far as Florida. It was 

 at this time that he seems to have 

 begun, in connection with Dr. Bachman, 

 his studies in Natural History which 

 resulted in the publication, a few years 

 later, of the u Quadrupeds of North 

 America. 77 



In the spring he left Charleston and 

 set out to explore the Gulf of Mexico, 

 going to Galveston and thence well into 

 Texas, where he met General Sam Hous- 

 ton. Here is one of his vivid, realistic 

 pen pictures of the famous Texan : t i We 

 walked towards the President's house, ac- 

 companied by the Secretary of the Navy, 

 and as soon as we rose above the bank, 

 we saw before us a level of far-extend- 

 ing prairie, destitute of timber, and 

 rather poor soil. Houses half finished, 



