Audubon--A remarkable
instance of memory.
As an evidence of the development of backwoods skill, and a vivid
picture of Daniel Boone, we give the following from Mr. Audubon:
"Daniel Boone, or as he was usually called in the Western country,
Colonel Boone, happened to spend a night under the same roof with me,
more than twenty years ago. We had returned from a shooting excursion,
in the course of which his extraordinary skill in the management of a
rifle had been fully displayed. On retiring to the room appropriated to
that remarkable individual and myself for the night, I felt anxious to
know more of his exploits and adventures than I did, and accordingly
took the liberty of proposing numerous questions to him. The stature and
general appearance of this wanderer of the western forests, approached
the gigantic. His chest was broad and prominent; his muscular powers
displayed themselves in every limb; his countenance gave indication of
his great courage, enterprise, and perseverance; and when he spoke, the
very motion of his lips brought the impression, that whatever he uttered
could not be otherwise than strictly true. I undressed, whilst he merely
took off his hunting shirt, and arranged a few folds of blankets on the
floor; choosing rather to lie there, as he observed, than on the softest
bed. When we had both disposed of ourselves, each after his own
fashion, he related to me the following account of his powers of memory,
which I lay before you, kind reader, in his own words, hoping that the
simplicity of his style may prove interesting to you.
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