CHAPTER IX. 



1832 TO 183 5. 

 Labors in Natural History. 



Letters to audubon and his sons— successful labors in 

 botany and natural history — anecdote of oemler the 

 enthusiastic botanist — the visit of audubon and his 

 family — mr. edward harris, of morristown, n. .t. — a 

 night with the hunters at liberty hall. 



To Audubon : 



Charleston, January 20th, 1833. 



My Dear Friend : For some weeks I have 

 been unwell, and for a few days in bed. I shall en- 

 deavor to-day, as I am up again, to amuse myself in 

 writing to you. 



Your last letter required a Philadelphia lawyer to 

 decipher it, all pothooks ; you must have taken les- 

 sons from some new-fangled writing-master in 

 Yankee-town, who has taught you to place the 

 letters, as Henry Ward sometimes does his birds in a 

 basket — heads to tails and crosswise. ^ ^ ^ ^ 



Now for a rambling letter about birds. I have 

 not used a gun more than once this winter, but, 

 hope to do so again — when I regain my health. Dr. 

 Strobel has gone to Sinebal — a portion of Florida 

 where you have never been. Leitner, the Botanist, 

 leaves here on an expedition to Florida. Many of 

 us have subscribed in shares, to receive the amount 

 of our subscriptions in any collections in Natural 

 6 



