176 JOHN JAMES AUDUBON. 



to see his wife, who had meantime come back from 

 Pennsylvania to Hendersonville, Ky. In this trip 

 he came near losing his life. He says : " I found 

 myself obliged to cross one of the wild prairies 

 which, in that portion of the United States, vary 

 the appearance of the country. The weather was 

 fine, all around me was as fresh and blooming as if 

 it had just issued from the bosom of nature. My 

 knapsack, my gun, and my dog were all I had for 

 baggage and company. But although well moc- 

 casined, I moved slowly along, attracted by the 

 brilliancy of the flowers, and the gambols of the 

 fawns around their dams, to all appearance as 

 thoughtless of danger as I felt myself." 



After travelling all day, he reached a log cabin. 

 "Presenting myself at the door, I asked the tall 

 figure, which proved to be a woman, if I might take 

 shelter under her roof for the night. Her voice 

 was gruff, and her dress negligently thrown about 

 her. She answered in the affirmative. I walked 

 in, took a wooden stool, and quietly seated myself 

 by the fire. The next object that attracted my 

 notice was a finely formed young Indian, resting 

 his head between his hands, with his elbows on his 

 knees. A long bow rested against the log wall 

 near him, while a quantity of arrows and two or 

 three raccoon skins lay at his feet. He moved not ; 

 he apparently breathed not. Accustomed to the 

 habits of the Indians, and knowing that they pay 

 little attention to the approach of civilized stran- 

 gers, I addressed him in French, a language not 



