| Show john james audubon painter of birds now revealed as an important writer who was witness to our heroic ag age e by ELMO SCOTT WATSON released rel He eased leased by western newspaper union 0 MOST ame americans ricans the TO name audubon is synonymous with just one word birds three species bear his name as does the society which is dedicated to the study protection and preservation of those feathered denizens of america which were his lifelong life long passion we remember him also as the author artist of a set bet of books which a fellow sd scientist ie otist once called the most magnificent monument that art has yet raised to ornithology yet there is another and possibly a better reason why john james audubon should be reme remembered gratefully by his fellow americans that is because he was a witness to our heroic age and as an appreciative and understanding witness he was one of 0 its best interpreters such is the theme of a new book whose publication li by the houghton mifflin company of boston was a major event of the 1940 publishing season the book is america the narratives an and d experiences of john james audubon illustrated with nearly a score of facsimiles of his prints and paintings in full color but more important than this inclusion of authentic reproductions of paintings in a popular priced book is the fact that his narratives and experiences in it are edited by donald culross Pe peattie attle and mr peattie naturalist and author of such books as singing in the wilderness and A prairie grove is probably the one roan man in amer america ca today who is most competent to act as an appreciative and understanding interpreter of john james audubon a witness to and an interpreter of our heroic age some of the most charming prose that mr peattie has ever wr written itten is included in what audubon du bon knew which serves as an introduction to the book it says in n part the source of history is the narratives of those who lived it now of all those who ever lived ived here traveled and greatly adventured none could bear more fascinating testimony than john james audubon he had the advantage of being a foreigner so that he took nothing for granted and in the perspective of a more mature culture all things american struck him as fresh he had the further advantage that he was a genius and a genius of art at that so that to observe to depict what he saw was habitual and instinctive but audubon had too a genius for the art of living he lived with aest aest for the adventure and with personal persona ardors he j 4 V THE SNOWY HERON HERO savored everything even the unsavory he saw almost everything from 1803 to 1849 from florida to labrador from new york city to fort For union on the borders of montana he lived among pennsylvania quakers in kentucky among pioneers from virginia in new orleans among indians he explored maine and south carolina texas and florida wide variety of experience in the nearly 50 active america iccil years of life what other individual had such a variety of experience no one certainly was at once so sensitive and so lusty no one with his pen anahis and his brush g THE VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM it is at this point in his essay that mr peattie points out how fame as an ornithologist the renown which has made his name synonymous with the word birds has obscured his value to his fellow americans as a witness of our heroic age 11 moreover his art as a painter has overshadowed his ability as a writer for a professional writer he was a man who wrote to sell and who did sell 1 I am not saying that he knew how to write history like the learned parkman or style like A 5 M 1 1 1 1 4 JOHN JAMES AUDUBON A self portrait in oils made at beech woods feliciana parish la in 1822 at the age of 37 the choice thoreau or that he thought as an equal with elmerson observes mr peattie 1 I am asserting only that while cooper went to england while he wrote the prairie an dull book to my ears audubon was on the prairies that where emerson knew his carlyle audubon knew his mississippi squatters that while thoreau was OR WHITE EGRET traveling around concord audubon was traveling around north america while parkman was writing history audubon was was making and witnessing it considering these facts it seems strange indeed that until now no attempt has been made to bring together into one volume a general selection of the firsthand narratives of what mr peattie calls this shrewd and eager observer of all conditions and aspects of american men manners and scenes this has been due partly ito to the fact that writings have been scattered through a wide assort jentof volumes many of which ire to be found only in the larger libraries and are therefore known to only a few scholars and specialists cia lists in american america n history for these reasons americans generally know little about audubon the writer even though they may be familiar enough with audubon the artist and what they do know about him as a chronicler of the period in which he lived is when he is quoted in evidence for the unbelievable numbers of the passenger pigeons or the destruction of the biti buffalo falo or on some other point in natural history therefore the great value of this book is that it makes up in some measure for neglect of precious testimony for as mr peattie says as editor I 1 have preferred to bring him forward less as the naturalist than as one who knew river captains and roustabouts roust pioneers and men of letters indians and scientists this without of course slighting his natural history writings but reducing them to some reasonable proportion to the whole that whole is the america of his day america as he and perhaps only he knew it america how richly that promise is is fulfilled is shown by a reading of the chapters which follow the introductory what audubon knew and mr beatties Pe atties evaluation of audubon as a witness the titles of those chapters are indicative of the diversity of au debons experience the catholicity of his interests and the scope of his traveling around north america km erica kentucky days and nights hunters tales pioneer types deep south four proud fowl down east for birds and subscribers and out west with buffalo and indians to those who think of audubon only in terms of birds the amount of his writing about animals will be revealing after completing his monumental work the birds of america he began work on the quadrupeds of america and into the new project t the old master entered with all the zest so he wrote his young friend spencer baird that he had once felt for birds so it is appropriate that this new book reproduces almost as many pictures of animals seven in in all as it does pictures of birds eight not the least interesting fea ture of the bookis book is a biographical note a long note albeit since it covers 22 pages which tells in interesting fashion the story of his life from the date of his birth april 26 1785 at the port of les cayes or aux cayes 0 on n the south coast of the republic of haiti until his death in new york city on january 27 1851 this biographical sketch discusses the much disputed story of his paternity and cites the fact that available documents prove conclusively that he was the natural son of jean audubon of the french navy and a creole woman of good birth whose family name was either rabi or fougere says mr peattie this should set at rest the preposterous claim that has recently and only recently been set up for him that he was none other than the lost dauphin louis majesty disguised as a wandering artist I 1 this legend would be too farfetched far tar fetched for notice it if it were not unfortunately the one story about audubon that sticks in many minds two women biographers of audubon have recently taken it quite seriously and thousands of words have been written in debate on this point they can all be cut short by laying down a tact fact denied by nobody the unfortunate little bourbon prince had a deformed ear while vars ears were both quite normal who will seriously ar argue guethe the point beyond this |
