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CODA
1841-1851
The last decade of Audubon's life was spent at Minniesland,
the home Audubon had built for his family which overlooked the
Hudson River. He still dreamed of the Rockies, of Oregon, of
California, and in 1842 he set out on his last journey as a naturalist.
Audubon returned to Minniesland on November 6, 1843. A week
later he received a letter from Bachman urging him to come to
Charleston with all the skins he acquired on his trip. "Your
animals require an examination of three months. I cannot be
spared from home for a single Sunday…I am quite sure that
you will soon be here with all your treasures, and we will discuss
these matters as men ought to in earnest…"
In the fall of 1845 John Bachman made the journey to Minniesland
to visit his granddaughters and to work with Audubon and his
sons on The Quadrupeds. He observed Audubon painted with
the same undiminished skill, but that his friend was not as mentally
acute as he had been. The fall of 1846 after the death of his
wife Harriet, Bachman returned to Minniesland and saw his friend
was failing physically. Audubon had completed half the large
illustrations for The Quadrupeds, but he could do no more.
In the spring Bachman made another trip to Minniesland, only
to write Maria Martin: "Alas, my poor friend, Audubon, the
outlines of his countenance and his form are there, but his noble
mind is all in ruins." Audubon died surrounded by his family
in January 1851. The second volume of The Quadrupeds
was published that year, and was completed by Audubon's sons
with Bachman's text. |