Some Early American Ornithologists 267 



by Bradford and Company, which insured him a much better living than 

 his precarious school teaching afforded. Now, at last, he was beginning to 

 realize his hopes. The production of the ornithology became a thing 

 possible; Bradford was to be the publisher, Lawson was to etch the plates, 

 and Bartram gave constant aid and encouragement. 



In 1808, with a sample of the first volume under his arm, Wilson set out 

 on foot and by stage to secure subscribers, traveling through New York 

 and New England as far as Portland, Maine, and later, southward to Sa- 

 vannah, Georgia, where he obtained the last of the requisite two hundred 

 and fifty subscribers at $120 each. He met with many rebuffs, of course, 

 and Governor Tompkins, of New York, told him he would not give him a 

 hundred dollars for all the birds he intended to describe, even if he had 

 them alive. In spite of all, he returned to Philadelphia, triumphant. The 

 publication progressed rapidly, he took a boat trip down the Ohio and went 

 on horseback through the Mississippi wilderness to New Orleans in search 

 of new birds and additional subscribers, and, by 1813, the eighth volume 

 was going through the press. In the summer of that year, however, Wilson, 

 who had been wearing out his delicate constitution by his confining work, 

 was taken sick and died, after a few days' illness, on August 23. His friend, 

 George Ord, completed another volume of the ornithology from the 

 materials left by the author, and so was produced the finest work on the 

 birds of any country that had appeared up to that time; a work that has 

 ever since been a standard and the guide of many a subsequent American 

 ornithologist. 



Wilson, at the time of his death, had just begun to reap the reward of 

 his work in the praise that it enlisted, both at home and abroad. Of 

 financial reward there appears to have been none, as all the receipts were 

 consumed in the cost of publication, and, even at that, the work of the 

 engraver was largely a labor of love. 



Of Wilson's personality, we learn from those who knew him best that 

 he was honorable and truthful to a degree but of a retiring disposition and 

 exceedingly sensitive to criticism, so that he made friends with difficulty. 

 His enthusiasm was great, but apparently only exhibited to those with whom 

 he was on most intimate terms. 



What would have been the effect upon American ornithology had 

 Wilson been allowed to live out his life and publish a popular ornithology 

 and other works, which he seems to have planned, it is hard to say. As it 

 was, his entire ornithological work was accomplished in eight or nine years, 

 and his death came just when he was at his prime. These facts should be 

 considered when comparing his work with those of others who rounded out 

 their full lives and completed their cherished projects. 



Alexander Wilson has been called the father of American ornithology, 

 and he merits the honor. He was an ornithologist in the fullest sense of the 



