JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 113 
In November Audubon is again at the 
house of his friend Dr. Bachman, in 
Charleston, South Carolina. Here he 
passed the winter of 1836-7, making 
excursions to various points farther 
south, going as far as Florida. It was 
at this time that he seems to have 
begun, in connection with Dr. Bachman, 
his studies in Natural History which 
resulted in the publication, a few years 
later, of the ‘‘Quadrupeds of North 
America.’’ 
In the spring he left Charleston and 
set out to explore the Gulf of Mexico, 
going to Galveston and thence well into 
Texas, where he met General Sam Hous- 
ton. Here is one of his vivid, realistic 
pen pictures of the famous Texan: ‘‘ We 
walked towards the President’s house, ac- 
companied by the Secretary of the Navy, 
and as soon as we rose above the bank, 
we saw before us a level of far-extend- 
ing prairie, destitute of timber, and 
rather poor soil. Houses half finished, 
