Audubon's Western Journal: 1849-1850: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Audubon's Western Journal: 1849-1850, credited to John Woodhouse Audubon, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Audubon's Western Journal: 1849-1850 by John Woodhouse Audubon. Read in English by David Wales John Woodhouse Audubon (1812-1862), son of the famous painter John James Audubon and an artist in his own right, joined Col. Henry Webb's California Company expedition in 1849. From New Orleans the expedition sailed to the Rio Grande; it headed west overland through northern Mexico and through Arizona to San Diego, California. Cholera and outlaws decimated the group. Many of them turned back, including the leader. Audubon assumed command of those remaining and they pushed on to California, although he was forced to abandon his paints and canvases in the desert…. Throughout the whole of this long journey Mr. Audubon took notes of scenes and occurrences by the way. In his descriptions he exhibits the keen observation of the naturalist and the trained eye of the artist. The result is a remarkable picture of social conditions in Mexico, of birds and trees, of sky and mountains and the changing face of nature, of the barrenness of the desert and the difficulties of the journey, of the ruined missions of California, of methods of mining, and of the chaos of races and babel of tongues in the gold fields. It was manifestly impossible to keep a daily journal, and the entries were made from time to time as opportunity occurred. Considering the circumstances under which they were taken, the notes are remarkable for their accuracy. Because it was not edited by Audubon, the text (and this recording) ends abruptly. - Summary by Book Introduction and David Wales

Recording facts

• Recording title: Audubon's Western Journal: 1849-1850
• Author credits: John Woodhouse Audubon
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 11
• Listed recording duration: 5:28:33

Catalogue topics

• exploration
• journal
• California
• gold rush
• Texas
• Mexico
• naturalist
• Arizona

Track guide

1. 00 - Introduction (Frank Heywood Hodder) — 12:50
2. 01 - Biographical Memoir (Maria R. Audubon) — 28:18
3. 02 - New York To Texas — 25:19
4. 03 - Disaster In The Valley Of The Rio Grande — 39:15
5. 04 - Mexico From The Rio Grande To The Mountains — 33:20
6. 05 - Across The Mexican Mountains To Altar Part 1 — 28:08
7. 06 - Across The Mexican Mountains To Altar Part 2 — 28:11
8. 07 - Through Arizona To San Diego — 38:58
9. 08 - California From San Diego To San Francisco — 35:15
10. 09 - A Tour Of The Gold-fields Part 1 — 31:12
11. 10 - A Tour Of The Gold-fields Part 2 — 27:47

Listen to this recording

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.