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Pittnian, Fordliam, Aiidtibon : Travels i 5 i immediately following the War of 1812. He shared their antipathy to the system of slavery and abhorred with them the loose morals of many of the frontier settlers. But as the editor, Mr. Ogg, points out, he is less prejudiced than most of his fellow commentators, having no pre- conceived ideas and being no agent either for the encouragement or dis- couragement of immigration. " He represents the type of English emi- grant all too rare, who appreciated to the full the manifold incon- veniences and deprivations of a new country but yet had faith to beheve that the difficulties were only temporary and that incessant industry was all that was needed to transform the crude backwoods settlements into flourishing and enlightened commonwealths." It might be added that Mr. Ogg's prefatory description of the westward movement during this period, showing the economic condition of both Old and New World under which Fordham made his tour and his observations, is as interest- ing as anything Fordham wrote. An excellent list of books is appended by the editor embracing contemporary descriptions of western travel. The poisonous stings of mosquitos in the lowlands along the Ohio and the torturing thirst of the adjacent prairies were repeated in the ex- periences of another pioneer in the westward movement thirty years later and many hundred miles to the southwest. Of such labor was it to found a republic and to carry civilization across a continent. Audubon's narrative differs from the others in the extent of its scientific information and its observations on natural history. The son of the great naturalist, and reared to outdoor life and study as his father's helper, John W. Audubon was selected as scientific observer to accompany a large expedi- tion sent out to the California gold-fields by. some New York capitalists as a speculation. Owing to dissensions in the party and the abdication of the leader on the way, the command devolved upon Audubon, who conducted the company to Georgetown, California, above Sacramento. Here the Journal ends abruptly. For various reasons, the route selected was that from Brazos, Te.xas, across Me.xico and modern Arizona to southern California. On the Gila River the party struck the old Kearney trail to California, which had now become an emigrant route in the rush to the gold-fields. Scienti- fically, the expedition was worth little to Audubon. His material for preserving and mounting specimens was abandoned along the route as the pack-animals became exhausted from thirst and lack of forage. Likewise, the hardships of the way prevented such extended note-taking as the naturalist had in contemplation. The journal must therefore stand as an interesting and intelligent description of one route to EI Dorado. Persons interested in early California history will find here some descriptions of the conditions in the early days really worth read- ing. The uncertainty of the gold search, the disappointment of the seekers, and the various methods employed in prosecuting the work are well described. Nearly two hundred water-color sketches made on the journey were