[ Audubon / Audubon and His Journals ]
John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabine) (1785 - 1851) was a French-American naturalist and artist, best known for his ornithological works, especially The Birds of America. One of the more well-known American naturalists, Audubon has also been a controversial figure, as it is widely believed he engaged in slave trading and plagiarism.
Audubon traveled widely in the United States, and kept journals of his travels and scientific work. Although written in the 1830s and 1840s, for the most part, these journals were not published in Audubon's lifetime, but in 1897 his granddaughter Maria R. Audubon published a rather highly edited 2-volume edition of his journals (New York: Charles Scribner). In these records, Audubon mentions his own Newfoundland, Plato, a number of times, as well as other Newfoundlands.
The first mention of Newfoundlands occurs in Audubon's "Labrador Journal," his record of travels in Newfoundland and Labrador. The entry for August 17, 1833, includes this mention of Newfs abruptly wedged into a discussion of the birds he had seen that day:
I bought seven Newfoundland dogs for seventeen dollars; now I shall be able to fulfil my promises to friends.
The next mention of Newfoundlands comes in Volume 2, in a section of the journals describing Audubon's explorations in Florida. Attempting to return to St. Augustine and finding no wagon available to convey his gear and assistants, Audubon remarks that "... we laid our things on the bank, and leaving one of my assistants to look after them, I set out accompanied by the other and my Newfoundland dog. We had eighteen miles to go; and as the sun wasonly two hours high, we struck off at a good rate. . . . The air felt hot and oppressive, and we knew that a tempest was approaching. Plato was now our guide, the white spots on his coat being the only objects that we could discern amid the darkness, and as if aware of his utility in this respect, he kept a short way before us on the trail. . . . Large drops began to fall from the murky mass overhead; thick impenetrable darkness surrounded us, and to my dismay, the dog refused to proceed." But Audubon presses on, the dog follows, and soon the small group finds themselves within sight of St. Augustine: "My dog began to run briskly around, having met with ground on which he had hunted before, and taking a direct course, led us to the great causeway that crosses the marshes at the back of the town."
Given that Audubon and his assistant could see the white "spots" on the dog's coat from behind the dog, it seems likely that Audubon's Newfoundland, Plato, was a Landseer.
Newfoundlands in general are mentioned next in passing, in a section entitled "The Opossum":
Its gait, while travelling, and at a time when it supposes itself unobserved, is altogether ambling; in other words, it, like a young foal, moves the two legs of one side forward at once. The Newfoundland dog manifests a similar propensity.
Audubon's own Newf is mentioned again in a passage describing Audubon's encounter with a fugitive slave in the Louisiana swamps. Finding his way blocked by a small bayou, Audubon cautiously
entered the water, followed by my faithful dog. As I advanced carefully, and slowly, "Plato" swam around me, enjoying the refreshing influence of the liquid element that cooled his fatigued and heated frame. The water deepened, as did the mire of its bed; but with a stroke or two I gained the shore.
Scarcely had I stood erect on the opposite bank, when my dog ran to me, exhibiting marks of terror; his eyes seeming ready to burst from theirsockets, and his mouth grinning with the expression of hatred, while hisfeelings found vent in a stifled growl. Thinking that all this was produced by the scent of a Wolf or Bear, I stooped to take up my gun. . . .
But it was no wild animal that spooked the Newfoundland - it was a fugitive slave, who invites Audubon to spend the night at his camp. Despite a bit of suspicion, Audubon agrees: "The large, intelligent eyes of the negro, the complacency of his manners, and the tones of his voice, I thought invited me to venture; and as I felt that I was at least his equal, while moreover, I had my dog to second me, I answered that I would follow him."
The men make their way through the woods, with Audubon noting that his Newfoundland had lost all sense of concern regarding the slave: "My dog smelt at him several times, but as he heard me speak in my usual tone of voice, he soon left us and rambled around as long as my whistle was unused."
At the slave's camp, where his wife and children have been hidden, Audubon finds a warm welcome, as does Plato: "the wife threw a large piece of Deer's flesh to my dog, which the children were already caressing."
This is the final mention of Plato in this volume, though there is one additional reference to Newfoundlands in general. Visiting a logging camp, Audubon remarks on the ability of the loggers to maneuver giant logs in the river: "They all take to the water, be it summer or winter, like so many Newfoundland spaniels." While Newfoundlands are of course not considered spaniels today, a number of 19th-Century writers on dogs, such as the noted British veterinarian and writer William Youatt, identified them as such.
Audubon makes another reference to Plato in one of his letters, written to his wife on February 17, 1831, as he is travelling in Florida: "We are surrounded by thousands of Alligators and I dare not suffer my good Newfoundland Dog Plato to go in the River, although I have seen him leaped over board and give chase to Porpoises...." (Letters of John James Audubon, 1826-1840 v.1-2, ed. Howard Corning [Boston: The Club of Odd Volumes]).