THE MAKING O^ AN AMERICAN 65 



esters." He found that the people with whom 

 he Hved had named a boy after him in his 

 absence and he presented his god-son with six dol- 

 lars, which, after paying for a cord of wood, left 

 him only three-quarters of a dollar in the world. 

 Yet in his little retreat in the "bridge-built hollow" 

 were conceived some of his best poems and, what is 

 infinitely more, here came to him the notion of writ- 

 ing his ornithology and from here he set out on his 

 first tours. By means of these travels he met many 

 men of distinction and saw with an observing eye 

 the life of many parts of America. 



The first of his long journeys was the one to 

 Niagara in the fall of 1804, part of which he 

 traveled in company with William Duncan and part 

 alone. He returned from this expedition on the 

 7th of December, having walked forty-seven miles 

 the last day ; he had been gone two months, during 

 which time he covered between twelve and thirteen 

 hundred miles "through deep snows and almost un- 

 inhabited forests; over stupendous mountains, and 

 down dangerous rivers." This was his trial trip, a 

 test of his strength and steadfastness, and he proved 

 himself able to endure much. 



There is a true ring of confidence at last in his 

 letter in which he unfolds his proposed journeys to 

 William Bartram : "For all the hazards and priva- 

 tions incident to such an undertaking, I feel confident 

 in my own spirit and resolution. With no family 

 to enchain my affections, no ties but those of friend- 

 ship, and the most ardent love of my adopted coun- 

 try; with a constitution which hardens amidst 

 5 



