IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC 31 



consisting of some fifty houses," and after a few days 

 passed at this garrison town in looking for new birds, 

 they started for Bangor, following the old military road 

 which led along the Penobscot River to Old Town. Said 

 the ornithologist of this journey: 



Autumn, with her mellow tints, her glowing fruits, and her 

 rich fields of com, smiled in placid beauty. Many of the fields 

 had not been reaped; the fruits of the forests and orchards 

 hung clustering around us, and as we came in view of the 

 Penebscot river, our hearts thriUed with joy. . . . 



The road which we followed from Old Town to Bangor was 

 literally covered with Penobscot Indians, returning from mar- 

 ket. On reaching the latter beautiful town, we found very 

 comfortable lodgings in an excellent hotel; and the next day 

 we proceeded by the mail to Boston.^ 



Audubon felt that he ought to remain in America 

 for at least another year, and decided to send his son, 

 Victor, to England to take charge of his publication. 

 This work had now become a paramount family interest, 

 and for the nineteen years of life that remained to the 

 elder Audubon, his two sons virtually became his assist- 

 ants, John as an active collector and companion in the 

 field, and Victor as his business agent and secretary. In 

 writing again to Edward Harris, from Boston, Novem- 

 ber 1, 1832, Audubon noted that they had found the 

 Canada Grouse in abundance, and that he was assured of 

 its breeding commonly within the Union; Victor, he 

 added, had sailed to England, "on the tenth of last 

 month" on the packet ship South America. 



The autumn of 1832 and the following winter were 

 spent in Boston, where the naturalist was busily engaged 

 in drawing and in laying plans for the now famous ex- 



* See "Journey in New Brunswick and Maine," Ornithological Biography 

 (Bibl. No. 2), vol. ii, p. 467. 



