SETTLEMENT IN THE WEST 195 
countless times in after life, and some of his musings 
have lost none of their interest with the flight of time, 
for he had witnessed the advance of the white man and 
the retreat of the red, along with the great herds of 
deer, elk and buffalo that once found peaceful pasturage 
on its banks. Speaking of a later but hardly less ro- 
mantic journey,* he said: 
As night came, sinking into darkness the broader portions 
of the river, our minds became affected by strong emotions, 
and wandered far beyond the present moments. The tinkling 
of bells told us that the cattle which bore them were gently 
roving from valley to valley in search of food, or returning 
to their distant homes. The hooting of the Great Owl, or the 
muffled noise of its wings as it sailed smoothly over the stream, 
were matters of interest to us; so was the sound of the boat- 
man’s horn, as it came winding more and more softly from 
afar. When daylight returned, many songsters burst forth 
with echoing notes, more and more mellow to the listening ear. 
Here and there the lonely cabin of a squatter struck the eye, 
giving note of commencing civilization. The crossing of the 
stream by a deer foretold how soon the hills would be covered 
by snow. 
Many sluggish flatboats we overtook and passed ; some laden 
with produce from the different head-waters of the small rivers 
that pour their tributary streams into the Ohio; others, of less 
dimensions, crowded with emigrants from distant parts, in 
search of a new home. 
The margins of the shores and of the river were at this 
season amply supplied with game. A Wild Turkey, a Grouse, 
or a Blue-winged Teal, could be procured in a few moments ; 
and we fared well, for, whenever we pleased, we landed, struck 
up a fire and provided, as we were, with the necessary utensils, 
procured a good repast. 
8 When Audubon was returning with his wife and infant son from 
Pennsylvania to Kentucky in the autumn of 1810; see “The Ohio,” 
Ornithological Biography (Bibl. No. 2), vol. i, p. 29. 
