184 THE MEMORABLE, 



covery of the fine eagle which he has named " the Bird of 

 Washington/' "It was on a winter's evening/' he ob- 

 serves, "in the month of February 1841, that, for the 

 first time in my life, I had an opportunity of seeing this 

 rare and noble bird, and never shall I forget the delight it 

 gave me. Not even Herschel, when he ' discovered the 

 famous planet which bears his name, could have expe- 

 rienced more happy feelings ; for to have something new 

 to relate, to become yourself a contributor to science, 

 must excite the proudest emotion of the human heart. 

 We were on a trading voyage, ascending the upper Mis- 

 sissippi ; the keen winter blasts whistled over our heads, 

 and the cold from which I suffered had, in a great degree, 

 extinguished the deep interest which, at other seasons, 

 this river has been wont to awake in me. I lay stretched 

 beside our patroon ; the safety of the cargo was forgotten ; 

 and the only thing that called forth my attention was the 

 multitude of ducks, of different species, accompanied by 

 vast flocks of swans, which from time to time would pass 

 us. My patroon, a Canadian, had been engaged many 

 years in the fur-trade: he was a man of much intelli- 

 gence, who, perceiving that these birds had engaged my 

 curiosity, seemed only anxious to find some new object 

 to divert me. The eagle flew over us. ' How fortunate ! ' 

 he exclaimed ; ' this is what I could have wished. Look, 

 sir ! the great eagle ; and the only one I have seen since 

 I left the lakes/ I was instantly on my feet ; and having 

 observed it attentively, concluded, as I lost it in the dis- 

 tance, that it was a species quite new to me." 



