54 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 
a friend not far distant. But the animal witn 
the intuition of fear, instead of hastening, pro 
ceeded slowly, and with'a caution, as if treading 
a sheet of ive. 
Imagining that he faltered, Audubon was on 
the point of dismounting to lead him, when the 
animal, spreading out his fore legs, hanging his 
head and groaning piteously, appeared as if ar 
rested by the stroke of death. Audubon, al- 
ready dismayed at his desolate situation, the 
melancholy of his solitude, and the misfortune 
of his failing horse,—his only companion and 
assistance—now beheld with awe the extraor; 
dinary appearance of the elements, the whole 
creation seeming under the influence of some 
strange and calamitous phenomenon. Shrubs 
and trees were agitated from their very roots; 
the ground rose and fell in undulations, like the 
waves of a stormy sea, ready to engulph all 
within its grasp. At that perilous moment what 
must have.been the sensations of Audubon; 
transfixed with terror, rocked to and fro upon 
his shuddering horse, the subterranean roar of 
the convulsion, mingling with the vision of a 
menacing abyss, which he anticipated every mo- 
ment would open for his destruction. Separated 
by miles from his family, apprehensions for their 
safety added fresh tortures to his situation, 
Should he ever return to seek them? Would 
