2l8 AUDUBON 



As soon as I reached the house of Dr. Rankin, where 

 I then resided, I sent word to the owner of the horse that 

 I should be glad to see him. When he came, I asked 

 him what price he would take; he said, fifty dollars in 

 silver was the lowest. So I paid the money, took a bill 

 of sale, and became master of the horse. The doctor, 

 who was an excellent judge, said smiling to me, "Mr. 

 Audubon, when you are tired of him, I will refund you 

 the fifty dollars, for depend upon it he is a capital horse." 

 The mane was trimmed, but the tail left untouched; the 

 doctor had him shod "all round," and for several weeks 

 he was ridden by my wife, who was highly pleased with 

 him. 



Business requiring that I should go to Philadelphia, 

 Barro (he was so named after his former owner) was put 

 up for ten days, and well tended. The time of my de- 

 parture having arrived, I mounted him, and set off at the 

 rate of four miles an hour — but here I must give you 

 the line of my journey, that you may, if you please, fol- 

 low my course on some such map as that of Tanner's. 

 From Henderson through Russellville, Nashville, and 

 Knoxville, Abingdon in Virginia, the Natural Bridge, 

 Harrisonburg, Winchester, and Harper's Ferry, Frederick, 

 and Lancaster, to Philadelphia. There I remained four 

 days, after which I returned by way of Pittsburgh, Wheel- 

 ing, Zanesville, Chillicothe, Lexington, and Louisville, to 

 Hepderson. But the nature of my business was such as 

 to make me deviate considerably from the main roads, 

 and I computed the whole distance at nearly two thousand 

 miles, the post roads being rather more than sixteen hun- 

 dred. I travelled not less than forty miles a day, and it 

 was allowed by the doctor that my horse was in as good 

 condition on my return as when I set out. Such a jour- 

 ney on a single horse may seem somewhat marvellous in 

 the eyes of a European ; but in these days almost every 

 merchant had to perform the like, some from all parts of 



