CHAPTER XXII 



OLD MISSOURI DAYS, OK THE WESTERN STATES AS SEEN BY 



VICTOR 



Wo publication, except Lewis and Clarke's Journals, 

 that has ever appeared presents such a clear view of the 

 great Western empire as it was in the early days of the 

 pioneers as Audubon's Missouri River Journals. These in- 

 valuable records, that were once lost in the back of an old 

 secretary, make the past live again. 



Having made a name for giving to the world an im- 

 mortal book on the birds of the American forests, Audubon 

 resolved, as we said, to prepare another work on the quadru- 

 peds of America. It was yet the days of the elk and the 

 buffalo; wolves filled the prairie, and the white wolf was an 

 animal yet to be seen. Over the long and winding Missouri 

 the eagle wheeled and screamed. 



The native tribes had hardly begun to disappear. The 

 Missouri River ran through the lands of the Sioux, Da- 

 kotas, and Assiniboins. Here were the remains of the 

 gigantic animals of a prehistoric age. 



Audubon saw that the tide of a new population was 



moving toward these great prairies on the winding river. 

 168 



