FIRST VENTURES IN BUSINESS 151 
be incurred in [working] it will be very heavy; to this must be 
added the uncertainty of success. The mine may promise much. 
at the beginning, and after that yield nothing. In short an, 
enterprise of this kind can be properly conducted only by a 
capitalist or by a company. We have regarded this mine as a 
lottery which can make the fortune of the promoter, or lead 
him into great losses. As to the agreement with Mr. Wm. 
Thomas, we do not consider it as very serious; since it is quite 
uncertain whether he will be paid in whole or in part, as he has 
not kept his agreements. This is Mr. Dacosta’s opinion. As 
to our half we are decided not to let it go under eight thou- 
sand dollars, which is its value as estimated by several farmers. 
So you see, my dear papa, that our half [as worth] 8,000 
dollars, at least, the sum of eight hundred dollars by mortgage, 
with interest, and that of four thousand dollars upon the first 
products from the mine, will cover easily the interest on the 
purchase of sixteen thousand francs. 
Since expenses are at least double what they would be in 
France, owing to the cost of products of every sort, we are de- 
termined to go into trade, to cover our expenses, and to choose 
for ourselves some kind of serious work that can lead us to an 
honorable establishment. You should be at ease about the 
manner we shall adopt for our operations, as we wish only to 
go slowly, and especially [to be] guided by the advice of the 
respectable persons whose acquaintance we are so fortunate as 
to enjoy, and who beyond a doubt will aid us along this thorny 
path. 
“By our letter of the 4th July we have sent the account 
current of Mr. Dacosta, by which Mr. Audubon is charged with 
315 dollars and 5 cents; we have begged you to send the docu- 
mentary evidence which may put us in a position to prove that; 
Mr. Audubon ought not to pay Mr. Dacosta’s private expenses, 
as the matter is to be decided here by arbitrators. We beg Mr. 
Audubon to use the utmost speed in sending his documents. It 
is our ardent [hope] also that you have received our first 
[letter] of May 31, with that of Mr. Bakewell, the merchant 
in New York, with a remittance of 3,000 and a few francs for 
