34 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 



a friend not far distant. But the animal with 

 the intuition of fear, instead of hastening, pro- 

 ceeded slowly, and with a caution, as if treading 

 a sheet of ice. 



Imagining that he faltered, Audubon was on 

 the point of dismounting to lead him, when the 

 animal, spreading out his fore legs, hanging his 

 head and gToaning piteouslj, appeared as if ar- 

 rested by the stroke of death. Audubon, al- 

 ready dismayed at his desolate situation, the 

 /melancholy of#his solitude, and the misfortune 

 of his failing horse, — his only companion and 

 assistance — now beheld with awe the extraor- 

 dinary appearance of the elements, the whole 

 creation seeming under the influence of some 

 strange and calamitous phenomenon. Shrubs 

 and trees were agitated fi?om their very roots ; 

 the ground rose and fell in undulations, hke the 

 waves of a stormy sea, ready to engulph all 

 within its grasp. At that perilous moment what 

 must have been the sensations of Audubon; 

 transfixed with terror, rocked to and fro upon 

 his shuddering horse, the subterranean roar of 

 the convulsion, mingling with the vision of a 

 menacing abyss, which he anticipated every mo- 

 ment would open for his destruction. Separated 

 by miles from his family, apprehensions for their 

 safety added fresh tortures to his situation. 

 Should he ever return to seek them? Would 



