Audubon and his Journals, Volume 1 (of 2)

185

Perhaps Forster's Tern, Sterna forsteri. – E. C.

186

Charles Lucien Bonaparte.

187

No doubt the common species, Phalacrocorax carbo, as Audubon afterward identified it. See beyond, date of June 30. – E. C.

188

That is, the species which Audubon named the Florida Cormorant, Phalacrocorax floridanus, now known to be a small southern form of the Double-crested Cormorant, P. dilophus. – E. C.

189

This is the so-called Bridled Guillemot, Uria ringvia. The white mark is not characteristic of sex, age, or season. The bird is not specifically distinct from Uria troile. – E. C.

190

Merula migratoria, the American Robin.

191

Kinglet, Regulus calendula. – E. C.

192

An interesting note of this new species figured in B. of Am., folio pl. 193, and described in Orn. Biogr. ii., 1834, p. 539. It is now known as Melospiza lincolni. – E. C.

193

The Common Puffin, now called Fratercula arctica. – E. C.

194

This is the usual sailors' name of the Razor-billed Auk in Labrador and Newfoundland, and was the only one heard by me in Labrador in 1860 (see Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1861, p. 249). – E. C.

195

Now Otocorys alpestris. – E. C.

196

Now Anthus pennsylvanicus. – E. C.

197

Common Cormorant. See note on page 370.

198

Loxia leucoptera.

199

Le petit caporal, Falco temerarius, Aud. Ornith. Biog. i., 1831, p. 381, pl. 85. Falco columbarius, Aud. Ornith. Biog. i., 1831, p. 466, pl. 92; v., 1838, p. 368. Synopsis, 1839, p. 16. B. Amer. 8vo, ed. 1., 1840, p. 88, pl. 21. Falco auduboni, Blackwall, Zoöl. Researches, 1834. – E. C.

In vol. v., p. 368, Audubon says: "The bird represented in the last mentioned plate, and described under the name of Falco temerarius, was merely a beautiful adult of the Pigeon Hawk, F. columbarius. The great inferiority in size of the individual represented as F. temararius was the cause of my mistaking it for a distinct species, and I have pleasure in stating that the Prince of Musignano [Charles Bonaparte] was the first person who pointed out my error to me soon after the publication of my first volume."

Bonaparte alludes to this in his edition of Wilson, vol. iii. p. 252.

200

American Ring Plover, now known as Ægialitis semipalmata. – E. C.

201

Great Northern Diver or Loon, now called Urinator, or Gavia, imber. The other Diver above mentioned as the "Scapegrace" is U., or G., lumme.

202

Red-throated Diver, now Urinator, or Gavia, lumme. – E. C.

203

The White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows are now placed in the genus Zonotrichia. – E. C.

204

Jager.

205

Petrels, most probably Cymochorea leucorrhoa. – E. C.

206

Now L. delawarensis, also called Ring-billed Gull. – E. C.

207

Double-crested Cormorant.

208

The Catchfly.

209

Pigeon Hawk.

210

White-crowned Sparrow.

211

Brown Titlark.

212

Black-poll Warbler.

213

Savannah Finch.

214

Double-crested Cormorant.

215

Hudson's Bay Titmouse.

216

The Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus. – E. C.

217

Common Gull. This record raises an interesting question, which can hardly be settled satisfactorily. Larus canus, the common Gull of Europe, is given by various authors in Audubon's time, besides himself, as a bird of the Atlantic coast of North America, from Labrador southward. But it is not known as such to ornithologists of the present day. The American Ornithologists' Union catalogues L. canus as merely a straggler in North America, with the query, "accidental in Labrador?" In his Notes on the Ornithology of Labrador, in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila. 1861, p. 246, Dr. Coues gives L. delawarensis, the Ring-billed Gull, three specimens of which he procured at Henley Harbor, Aug. 21, 1860. These were birds of the year, and one of them, afterward sent to England, was identified by Mr. Howard Saunders as L. canus (P.Z.S. 1877, p. 178; Cat. B. Brit. Mus., xxv. 1896, p. 281). This would seem to bear out Audubon's Journal; but the "Common American Gull" of his published works is the one he calls L. zonorhynchus (i. e., L. delawarensis), and on p. 155 of the Birds of Am., 8vo ed., he gives the very incident here narrated in his Journal, as pertaining to the latter species. The probabilities are that, notwithstanding Dr. Coues' finding of the supposed L. canus in Labrador, the whole Audubonian record really belongs to L. delawarensis. – E. C.

218

This appears to be an error, reflected in all of Audubon's published works. The Cayenne Tern of Audubon, as described and figured by him, is Sterna regia, which has never been known to occur in Labrador. Audubon never knew the Caspian Tern, S. tschegrava, and it is believed that this is the species which he saw in Labrador, and mistook for the Cayenne Tern – as he might easily do. See Coues, Birds of the Northwest, 1874, p. 669, where the case is noted. – E. C.

219

Or Willow Ptarmigan, Lagopus albus– the same that Audubon has already spoken of procuring and drawing; but this is the first mention he makes which enables us to judge which of two species occurring in Labrador he had. The other is the Rock Grouse, or Ptarmigan, L. rupestris. – E. C.

220

This is the bird which Audubon afterward identified with Tyrannula richardsonii of Swainson, Fn., Bor. – Am., ii., 1831, p. 146, pl. 46, lower fig., and published under the name of the Short-legged Pewee or Pewit Fly-catcher, Muscicapa phœbe, in Orn. Biogr., v. p. 299, pl. 434; B. Am., 8vo ed., i. p. 219, pl. 61. The species is now well known as the Western Wood Pewee, Contopus richardsoni; but it has never since Audubon's time been authenticated as a bird of Labrador. Audubon was of course perfectly familiar with the common Wood Pewee, Contopus virens, and with the Pewit Flycatcher, Sayornis phœbe. We can hardly imagine him mistaken regarding the identity of either of these familiar birds; yet there is something about this Labrador record of supposed C. richardsonii which has never been satisfactorily explained. – E. C.

221

Harelda hiemalis, the Old Squaw or Long-Tailed Duck. – E. C.

222

Histrionicus histrionicus, the Harlequin Duck. – E. C.

223

The Washington Eagle, or "Bird of Washington," of Audubon's works, is based upon the young Bald Eagle, Haliaëtus leucocephaluis. The bird here noted may have been either this species, or the Aquila chrysaëtus. – E. C.

224

See Episode "A Labrador Squatter."

225

Or Labrador Duck, Camptolæmus labradorius. This is a notable record, considering that the species became extinct about 1875. – E. C.

226

This is the White-winged Coot or Scoter just mentioned above, Œdemia deglandi. – E. C.

227

Brown or Northern Phalarope.

228

The Curlew which occurs in almost incredible numbers in Labrador is the Eskimo, Numenius borealis; the one with the bill about four inches long, also found in that country, but less commonly, is the Hudsonian, N. hudsonicus. See Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philada., 1861, p. 236. – E. C.

229

Pomarine Jager, or Gull-hunter, now called Stercorarius pomarinus. – E. C.

230

A small village on the coast of Labrador, latitude 51°; not the Bras D'Or of Cape Breton Island.

231

Empetrum nigrum.

232

The Purple or Rock Sandpiper, Tringa (Arquatella) maritima. – E. C.

233

Not Ereunetes pusillus, but the Least Sandpiper, Tringa (Actodromas) minutilla, which appears as Tringa pusilla in Audubon's works. – E. C.

234

This is the bird figured by Audubon as Falco labradora on folio pl. 196, 8vo pl. 19, but which he afterward considered to be the same as his F. islandicus. It is now held, however, to represent a dark variety of Gyrfalcon, known as F. gyrfalco obsoletus, confined to Labrador and thence southward in winter to New England and New York. – E. C.

235

Sheep laurel.

236

See Episode, "A Ball in Newfoundland."

237

Dr. George Parkman, of Boston, who was murdered by Professor J. W. Webster in Boston, November 23, 1849.

238

See Episode, "The Bay of Fundy."

239

A fallen tree that rests on the root end at the bottom of a stream or river, and sways up or down with the current.

240

See Episode "Great Pine Swamp."

241

The celebrated taxidermist. Born Sparkhill, New York, July 12, 1812, died at the same place, October, 1879.

242

J. T. Bowen, Lithographer of the Quad. of N.A.

243

Samuel G. Morton, the eminent craniologist.

244

Described and figured under this name by Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am. i., 1849, p. 332, pl. 44. This is the commonest Pocket Gopher of the Mississippi basin, now known as Geomys bursarius. – E. C.

245

Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am. ii., 1851, p. 132, pl. 68. The plate has three figures. This is the Fox Squirrel with white nose and ears, now commonly called Sciurus niger, after Linnæus, 1758, as based on Catesby's Black Squirrel. S. capistratus is Bosc's name, bestowed in 1802. – E. C.

246

The Engagés of the South and Southwest corresponded to the Coureurs de Bois, of whom Irving says, in his "Astoria," p. 36: "Originally men who had accompanied the Indians in their hunting expeditions, and made themselves acquainted with remote tracts and tribes… Many became so accustomed to the Indian mode of living that they lost all relish for civilization, and identified themselves with the savages among whom they dwelt… They may be said to have sprung up out of the fur trade."

247

One of the oldest settlements in Missouri, on the left bank of the river, still known by the same name, and giving name to St. Charles County, Mo. It was once called Petite Côte, from the range of small hills at the foot of which it is situated. When Lewis and Clark were here, in May, 1804, the town had nearly 100 small wooden houses, including a chapel, and a population of about 450, chiefly of Canadian French origin. See "Lewis and Clark," Coues' ed., 1893, p. 5. – E. C.

248

The species which Audubon described and figured as new under the name of Pelecanus americanus: Ornith. Biogr. iv., 1838, p. 88, pl. 311; Birds of Amer. vii., 1844, p. 20, pl. 422. This is P. erythrorhynchus of Gmelin, 1788, and P. trachyrhynchus of Latham, 1790. – E. C.

249

No other species of Marmot than the common Woodchuck, Arctomys monax, is known to occur in this locality. – E. C.

250

The actual distance of Jefferson City above the mouth of the river is given on the Missouri River Commission map as 145-8/10 miles. The name of the place was once Missouriopolis. – E. C.

251

Turkey-buzzards (Cathartes aura) and Bald Eagles (Haliæëtus leucocephalus). – E. C.

252

What Cormorants these were is somewhat uncertain, as more than one species answering to the indications given may be found in this locality. Probably they were Phalacrocorax dilophus floridanus, first described and figured by Audubon as the Florida Cormorant, P. floridanus: Orn. Biog. iii., 1835, p. 387, pl. 251; B. of Amer. vi., 1843, p. 430, pl. 417. The alternative identification in this case is P. mexicanus of Brandt. – E. C.

253

In present Cooper County, Mo., near the mouth of Mine River. It was named for the celebrated Daniel Boone, who owned an extensive grant of land in this vicinity. Booneville followed upon the earlier settlement at Boone's Lick, or Boone's Salt Works, and in 1819 consisted of eight houses. According to the Missouri River Commission charts, the distance from the mouth of the Missouri River is 197 miles. – E. C.

254

Say, in Long's Exped. i., 1823, p. 115, described from what is now Kansas. This is the well-known Western Fox Squirrel, S. ludovicianus of Custis, in Barton's Med. and Phys. Journ. ii., 1806, p. 43. It has been repeatedly described and figured under other names, as follows: S. subauratus, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 67, pl. 58; S. rubicaudatus, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 30, pl. 55; S. auduboni, Bach. P.Z.S. 1838, p. 97 (dusky variety); Aud. and Bach. iii., 1854, p. 260, pl. 152, fig. 2; S. occidentalis, Aud. and Bach., Journ. Philada. Acad. viii., 1842, p. 317 (dusky variety); S. sayii, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 274, pl. 89. The last is ostensibly based on the species described by Say, whose name macroura was preoccupied for a Ceylonese species. The Western Fox Squirrel has also been called S. rufiventer and S. magnicaudatus, both of which names appear in Harlan's Fauna Americana, 1825, p. 176 and p. 178. – E. C.

255

Audubon underscores "city" as a bit of satire, Glasgow being at that time a mere village or hamlet. – E. C.

256

This is the stream then as now known as Grand River, which at its mouth separates Chariton from Carroll County, Mo. Here is the site of Brunswick, or New Brunswick, which Audubon presently mentions. – E. C.

257

From the French "Mulots," field-mice.

258

P. J. de Smet, the Jesuit priest, well known for his missionary labors among various tribes of Indians in the Rocky Mountains, on the Columbia River, and in other parts of the West. His work entitled "Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains in 1845-46" was published in New York by Edward Dunigan in 1847. On p. 39 this book will be found mention of the journey Father de Smet was taking in 1843, when met by Audubon. – E. C.

259

Captain Clark of the U.S.A.

260

The distance of Independence from the mouth of the Missouri is about 376 miles by the Commission charts. In 1843 this town was still, as it long had been, the principal point of departure from the river on the Santa Fé caravan route. Trains starting hence went through Westport, Mo., and so on into the "Indian Territory." – E. C.

261

This is the bird which Audubon first discovered in Labrador, in 1833, and named Fringilla lincolnii in honor of his young companion, Thomas Lincoln. It is described and figured under that name in Orn. Biogr. ii., 1834, p. 539, pl. 193, and as Peucæa lincolnii in B. of Am. iii., 1841, p. 116, pl. 177, but is now known as Melospiza lincolni. It ranges throughout the greater part of North America. – E. C.

262

Apparently the very first intimation we have of the beautiful Finch which Audubon dedicated to Mr. Harris as Fringilla harrisii, as will be seen further on in his journal.

The other birds mentioned in the above text were all well-known species in 1843. – E. C.

263

Black Snake Hills (in the vicinity of St. Joseph, Mo.). "On the 24th we saw the chain of the Blacksnake Hills, but we met with so many obstacles in the river that we did not reach them till towards evening. They are moderate eminences, with many singular forms, with an alternation of open green and wooded spots." (Maximilian, Prince of Wied, "Travels in North America," p. 123.)

264

The measurements in pen and ink are marked over the writing of the journal. As already stated, this bird is Fringilla harrisii: Aud. B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 331, pl. 484. It had previously been discovered by Mr. Thomas Nuttall, who ascended the Missouri with Mr. J. K. Townsend in 1834, and named by him F. querula in his Man. Orn. 2d ed. i., 1840, p. 555. Its modern technical name is Zonotrichia querula, though it continues to bear the English designation of Harris's Finch. – E. C.

265

That is, the Green-backed or White-bellied Swallow, Hirundo bicolor of Vieillot, Tachycineta bicolor of Cabanis, and Iridoprocne bicolor of Coues. – E. C.

266

The surmise proved to be correct; for this is the now well-known Bell's Vireo, Vireo bellii of Audubon: B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 333, pl. 485. – E. C.

267

No doubt the species named Brewer's Blackbird, Quiscalus brewerii of Audubon, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 345, pl. 492, now known as Scolecophagus cyanocephalus. – E. C.

268

The Prairie Hare, Lepus virginianus of Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, i., 1829, p. 229, later described as L. campestris by Bachman, Journ. Philad. Acad. vii., 1837, p. 349, and then described and figured as L. townsendii by Aud. and Bach., Quad. N.A. i., 1849, p. 25, pl. 3. This is the characteristic species of the Great Plains, where it is commonly called "Jack-rabbit." – E. C.

269

Not a good species, but the dusky variety of the protean Western Fox Squirrel, Sciurus ludovicianus; for which, see a previous note. – E. C.

270

Or Bellevue, in what is now Sarpy County, Neb., on the right bank of the Missouri, a few miles above the mouth of the Platte. – E. C.

271

Vicinity of present Omaha, Neb., and Council Bluffs, Ia., but somewhat above these places. The present Council Bluffs, in Iowa, is considerably below the position of the original Council Bluff of Lewis and Clark, which Audubon presently notices. See "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, p. 66. – E. C.

272

The journals of Captain Joseph A. Sire, from 1841 to 1848, are extant, and at present in the possession of Captain Joseph La Barge, who has permitted them to be examined by Captain Chittenden. The latter informs us of an interesting entry at date of May 10, 1843, regarding the incident of the military inspection of the "Omega" for contraband liquor, of which Audubon speaks. But the inside history of how cleverly Captain Sire outwitted the military does not appear from the following innocent passage: "Mercredi, 10 May. Nous venons trés bien jusqu'aux côtes à Hart, où, à sept heures, nous sommes sommés par un officier de dragons de mettre à terre. Je reçois une note polie du Capt. Burgwin m'informant que son devoir l'oblige de faire visiter le bateau. Aussitôt nous nous mettons à l'ouvrage, et pendant ce temps M. Audubon va faire une visite au Capitaine. Ils reviennent ensemble deux heures après. Je force en quelque sorte l'officier à faire une recherche aussi stricte que possible, mais à la condition qu'il en fera de même avec les autres traiteurs." The two precious hours of Audubon's visit were utilized by the clever captain in so arranging the cargo that no liquor should be found on board by Captain Burgwin. – E. C.

273

John Henry K. Burgwin, cadet at West Point in 1828; in 1843 a captain of the 1st Dragoons. He died Feb. 7, 1847, of wounds received three days before in the assault on Pueblo de Taos, New Mexico. – E. C.

274

The question of the specific identity of the American and European Magpies has been much discussed. Ornithologists now generally compromise the case by considering our bird to be subspecifically distinct, under the name of Pica pica hudsonica. – E. C.

275

No doubt Thomas C. Madison of Virginia, appointed Assist. Surg. U.S.A., Feb. 27, 1840. He served as a surgeon of the Confederacy during our Civil War, and died Nov. 7, 1866. – E. C.

276

Council Bluff, so named by Lewis and Clark on Aug. 3, 1804, on which day they and their followers, with a number of Indians, including six chiefs, held a council here, to make terms with the Ottoe and Missouri Indians. The account of the meeting ends thus: "The incident just related induced us to give to this place the name of the Council-bluff; the situation of it is exceedingly favorable for a fort and trading factory, as the soil is well calculated for bricks, there is an abundance of wood in the neighborhood, and the air is pure and healthy." In a foot-note Dr. Coues says: "It was later the site of Fort Calhoun, in the present Washington Co., Neb. We must also remember, in attempting to fix this spot, how much the Missouri has altered its course since 1804." ("Expedition of Lewis and Clark," 1893, p. 65.)

277

This Wolf is to be distinguished from the Prairie Wolf, Canis latrans, which Audubon has already mentioned. It is the common large Wolf of North America, of which Audubon has much to say in the sequel; and wherever he speaks of "Wolves" without specification, we are to understand that this is the animal meant. It occurs in several different color-variations, from quite blackish through different reddish and brindled grayish shades to nearly white. The variety above mentioned is that named by Dr. Richardson griseo-albus, commonly known in the West as the Buffalo Wolf and the Timber Wolf. Mr. Thomas Say named one of the dark varieties Canis nubilus in 1823; and naturalists who consider the American Wolf to be specifically distinct from Canis lupus of Europe now generally name the brindled variety C. nubilus griseo-albus. – E. C.

278

Little Sioux River of present geography, in Harrison Co., Iowa: see "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, p. 69. – E. C.

279

Otherwise known as the Mule Deer, from the great size of the ears, and the peculiar shape of the tail, which is white with a black tuft at the tip, and suggests that of the Mule. It is a fine large species, next to the Elk or Wapiti in stature, and first became generally known from the expedition of Lewis and Clark. It is the Cervus macrotis of Say, figured and described under this name by Aud. and Bach. Quad. N.A. ii., 1851, p. 206, pl. 78, and commonly called by later naturalists Cariacus macrotis. But its first scientific designation is Damelaphus hemionus, given by C. S. Rafinesque in 1817. – E. C.