134 AUDUBON, THE NATURALIST 
that he would be only too glad to leave his unhappy 
country under as favorable conditions. Audubon and 
Rozier sailed from Nantes on Saturday, April 12, 1806, 
on the ship Polly, Captain Sammis, but they did not 
land in New York until Tuesday, May 28, after a 
perilous voyage of nearly eight weeks. A fortnight had 
been passed at sea when they sighted a suspicious look- 
ing vessel which immediately gave chase, fired several 
shots across their bows, and compelled the captain to 
heave to and submit to being boarded and searched. 
This proved to be an English privateer, named the 
ATES A ARGOS 
Geo ee 
Mey srl enay 261 ab 
RECEIPT GIVEN BY CAPTAIN S. SAMMIS OF THE “‘POLLY” TO AUDUBON AND FERDI- 
NAND ROZIER FOR THEIR PASSAGE MONEY FROM NANTES TO NEW YORK. 
From the Tom J. Rozier MSS. 
Rattlesnake. She was rather considerate for a British 
cruiser of the period, for she merely impressed two of 
their best seamen and robbed them of their provisions, 
carrying off, said Audubon, all of their “pigs, sheep, 
coffee and wine,” * in spite of loud remonstrances of the 
captain and of an American Congressman who hap- 
®In the register of the Central Committee of Nantes it is noted, 
under date of October 4, 1793, that “owing to the friendly relations 
then existing between France and the citizens of the United States, and 
to the good feeling evinced by them in sending to us for food, four 
American ships are accordingly permitted to leave the port of Nantes, 
with cargoes of wine, sugar, and coffee, and also to take enough biscuit 
for the voyage.” 
