AUDUBON'S LABRADOR TRIP 



Although stormy weather is common on this 

 coast, Audubon was certainly . unfortunate in 

 experiencing an unusually stormy season. Of 

 the fifty-four days between June 17 and August 

 II that were spent on the Labrador coast, he 

 speaks of rain and fog and storm on at least 

 twenty-five, and he had apparently only fif- 

 teen days of fine weather. His Southern blood 

 rebelled against the Northern cold and storm. 



Still another handicap was his "ignorant 

 ass" of a pilot, who, not knowing the region, 

 exposed them to no inconsiderable danger of 

 shipwreck, on entering and leaving harbors, 

 and who was obliged to sail for safety on the 

 rough waters of the Gulf rather than in the 

 calm and narrow waterways among the islands. 

 It is probable that homesickness added to Au- 

 dubon's troubles, as is shown by such records 

 as, "John's violin notes carry my thoughts 

 far, far from Labrador, I assure thee." 



It is a curious fact that in the Journal Au- 

 dubon never once mentions his food,^ an item 

 that is often dwelt upon with a great deal 

 of either favorable or unfavorable feeling by 



1 In one of the "Episodes," however, he says they "were 

 fortunate in having a capital cook, although he was a little too 

 fond of the bottle." 



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