THE GREAT PINE SWAMP. 81 
Fong clerished, so dearly prized? That he felt to 
be impossible. To follow them at any rate were 
preferable, and thus renewed, in spirit, with fresh 
resolve, alternations of feeling no longer tor- 
mented him. Dividing his collection into sepa- 
rate parcels of five plates, he improved the whole 
carefully as much as was in his power. He then 
determined to retire further from the haunts of 
men, while nothing that his labour, time, or 
means could command, should be left undone, 
to ensure the realization of his plan. Wisely he 
toiled, in solitude, and self sustained. He con- 
tinued to explore the forests, lakes, and prairies, 
in order to enrich his collections, even penetrat- 
ing to the Great Pine swamp. In reaching it, 
he was rattled by his conductor down a steep 
declivity, edged on the one hand by perpen- 
dicular rocks; on the other, by a noisy stream, 
which seemed to threaten the approach of stran- 
gers. The thick growth of pines and laurels 
rendered the swamp one mass of darkness. But, 
wixh his gun and note-book, Audubon struggled 
through its mazes, now lingering to enrich his 
portfolio, while wild turkeys, pheasants, and 
grouse hovered about his feet, now beguiling 
his toil by listening to the poetry of Burns, read 
aloud by his companion while he polished some 
sketch in hand. 
On one occasion, during his wanderings, wher 
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