32 Biology in Amrn'ra 



In tlie interims between his journeys to England, Audubon 

 Avas l)usy ill liis search for liirds and also iiiaimiials, visiting 

 aiiiong other places, Labrador aiul Fh^rida, and liiially making 

 his last expedition, that up the Missouri Kiver to the mouth of 

 the Yellowstone, primaril\- to collect material for his "Quad- 

 rupeds of America," one volunie of which was published 

 before his deatii, and tlie other two, by his sons, Victor and 

 John, subserpient thereto. 



In the early morning of dan. 27, 1851, in tlie country home 

 of "JMinniesland" on the hanks of the Iliidson, there passed 

 away the pi-emier of America's early pioneers in science. 

 Today towering apartment houses, and a splendid driveway, 

 look down on "Minniesland," but his work lives after him 

 and his spirit pulses still in the "Audubon Societies" through- 

 out our land. 



Both of Audubon's sons followed in their father's foot- 

 steps as naturalists and artists, and were early associated 

 with him in his ornithological work, and later in his work on 

 the "Quadrupeds," in the course of which the younger of 

 the sons, John, visited both Texas and California, making the 

 journey overland in search of specimens of natural histoiy. 



Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, both public and 

 private interest awakened in the unknown resources of the 

 vast territory beyond the Missouri and its head waters. An 

 expedition to visit this region, cross the Rockies and descend 

 the Columbia to its mouth was early planned by President Jef- 

 ferson, under the leadership of his secretary Captain Merri- 

 wether Lewis, accompanied by Francois Andre Michaux, a 

 French botanist visiting America under the auspices of the 

 French government. ]\Iichaux had traveled extensively 

 through eastern North America on botanical explorations, the 

 result of which were his "Flora boreali- Americana," and his 

 ' ' North American Sylva. ' ' Before this plan could be executed, 

 however, he was recalled liy his government to Fi-ance. Noth- 

 ing daunted by failure Jeti'erson i)lanned a second expedition, 

 and in 3 804-5 Captains Tjewis and ('lark of the IT. S. Army 

 crossed the continent via the^ Missouri and Columbia Rivers. 

 On this (>x|)edi1ioii they collected voluminous scientific data 

 dealing in ])art with the natural history of the region trav- 

 ersed. 



It is worth while at this point to glance for a moment at 

 the scientific work of that remarkably versatile man, Thomas 

 Jelferson, a man Avho in many respects was the i)rototype 

 of that other statesman-naturalist who has so recently de- 

 l)arted from iis. Jefferson's interests were very broad. 

 Astronomer, ])hysicist, engineer, anatomist, geologist, zoolo- 

 gist, botanist, palaioutologist, litterateur, educator, lawyer, 



