58 LIFE OP AUDUBON. 



" On a clear frosty momiDg in December," writes Audubon 

 in his journal, " I arrived at Natchez, and found the levee 

 lined with various sorts of boats full of western produce. 

 The crowd was immense and the market appeared to be a sort 

 of fair. Scrambling up to the cliffs on which the city is built, 

 I found flocks of vultures flying along the ground with out- 

 spread wings in the pursuit of food. Large pines and superb 

 magnolias crowned the bluff, and their evergreen foliage showed 

 with magnificent effect. I was delighted with the spectacle of 

 white-headed eagles pursuing fishing hawks, and surveyed the 

 river scenery sparkling in bright sunlight with a new pleasure. 

 Far away across the stream the shores were lost in the primitive 

 forests, and a mysterious unknown seemed to lie beyond me. 

 I was impressed with the pretty houses of the upper town, built 

 of painted brick or wood ; and to complete my feeling of enjoy- 

 ment, my relative, Mr. Berthoud, gave me letters from my wife 

 and sons, received by the weekly mail which then brought 

 letters to Natchez from all parts of the Union. The town 

 owned three thousand inhabitants ; was composed of an upper 

 town and an under town, the latter chiefly built up of beached 

 flat boats converted into cabins by a rascally and nondescript 

 population. The planters' houses in the upper town were 

 models of luxury and comfort, but the church architecture 

 prevalent rather detracted from the beauty of the place. I 

 found the mocking bird in abundance, and the pewee fly- 

 catcher at home in its winter quarters. The old Spanish fort 

 was still visible in ruins, and a rumour reached me that many 

 houses had been buried in the river by a slip of the bank. At 

 Natchez, I was amazed to see a white-headed eagle attack a 

 vulture, knock it down, and gorge itself upon a dead horse. 

 M. Gamier, who kept the largest hotel in the place, befriended 

 me in many ways, and 1 also formed an acquaintance with 

 M. Charles Garr^, the son of a French nobleman of the old 

 regime. From Carr^ I had a history^of Natchez, as he had 

 lived to witness the career of that town under the Spaniards, 

 French, and Americans." 



In connection with his residence in Natchez, he tells a 

 a significant story. A companion of his, voyaging, having 

 worn his shoes down, had no money to get them repaired or to 



