214 AUDUBON, THE NATURALIST 



of the originals of his famous plates. To quote Dr. 



Coues : 6 



In handling these drawings and paintings, of all degrees 

 of completeness, one of sensibility could but experience some 

 emotions he would not care to formulate in words ... I was 

 fairly oppressed with the sad story of poverty, even destitution, 

 which these wan sheets of coarse paper told. Some of Wilson's 

 originals are on the fly-leaves of old books, showing binder's 

 marks along one edge. One of the best portraits, that of the 

 Duck Hawk, is on two pieces of paper pasted together. The 

 man was actually too poor to buy paper ! Some of the draw- 

 ings are on both sides of the paper; some show a full picture 

 on one side, and part of a mutilated finished painting on the 

 other. Some show the rubbing process by which they were 

 transferred. They are in all stages of completeness, from the 

 rudest outlines to the finished painting. 



I know full well that in 1804, when Wilson had fairly 

 begun his work on birds, he was poor enough, but I 

 hesitate to believe upon such evidence that he was too 

 poor to buy decent drawing materials. Wilson doubt- 

 less practiced economy in these matters as in everything 

 else, through his ingrained habit of Scotch thrift, and 

 he was probably quite as well-to-do then as five years 

 before, when out of his slender earnings he was able to 

 lay money aside. 7 Later, to be sure, his modest savings 

 were quite consumed by his Ornithology, and then Wil- 

 liam Bartram came to his aid, even giving him a home 

 in his own house. It is also wide of the mark to con- 



6 See Bibliography, No. 43. 



7 At Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on October 3, 1799, Alexander Wilson 

 sent George Simpson, Esq., a State Treasurer's check in favor of Joseph 

 Brown for $475, to be entered to the credit of Mr. Brown as one install- 

 ment on 38 shares of scrip in the new loan at eight per cent, in the 

 names of Thomas Eyes, 14 shares; Alexander Wilson, 14 shares; and 

 Kenneth Sewell, 10 shares. 



