Free This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon by Nancy Plain Page A

animals.
    Republic of Texas: After winning independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas became an independent republic. It joined the Union in 1845 as the twenty-eighth state.
    Shawnee: An Indian tribe with wide-ranging settlements from Georgia to Ohio during Audubon’s time.
    Sioux: Also known as the Lakota, a large Indian tribe with many different branches, living from Minnesota to the Dakotas during the nineteenth century.
    skiff: A small boat powered either by oar or sail.
    smallpox: A highly contagious disease caused by a virus.
    species: A distinct group of animals sharing the same basic characteristics and habitat and whose members usually breed only among themselves.
    specimen: An individual sample that represents a larger group.
    steamboat: A type of boat, powered by steam, that came into use in America in 1807 and revolutionized river travel.
    Sully, Thomas ( 1783 – 1872 ): An American artist and one of the leading portrait painters of his day.
    taxonomy: The science of the classification of plants and animals.
    Townsend, John ( 1809 – 51 ): An American naturalist and ornithologist who accompanied Thomas Nuttall on an expedition from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
    Trail of Tears: Following President Andrew Jackson’s signing of the Indian Removal Bill of 1830, Indian tribes from America’s southern states were forcibly removed from their homelands and resettled on reservations west of the Mississippi.
    tuberculosis: An infectious disease caused by bacteria that usually affects the lungs.
    viviparous: An adjective that describes an animal that gives birth to live young as opposed to laying eggs.
    War of 1812 : The war between America and Britain that lasted from 1812 to 1815.
    Webster, Daniel ( 1782 – 1852 ): A lawyer, orator, and statesman who served in both houses of Congress, as well as two terms as secretary of state.
    Wilson, Alexander ( 1766 – 1813 ): Born in Scotland, this naturalist and ornithologist achieved fame for his multivolume work, American Ornithology .
    yellow fever: A highly infectious disease caused by a virus that is transmitted by mosquito bite.
    zoology: The scientific study of animal life.

Bibliography
    Arthur, Stanley Clisby. Audubon: An Intimate Life of the American Woodsman . Gretna LA : Pelican Publishing, 2000.
    Audubon, John James. Audubon in the West . Compiled and edited by John Francis McDermott. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1965.
    —. Ornithological Biography, or An Account of the Habits of the Birds of the United States of America . Volumes 1–5. Memphis: General Books, 2012.
    —. Writings and Drawings . Edited by Christopher Irmscher. New York: The Library of America, 1999.
    Audubon, Maria R. Audubon and His Journals . 2 vols. New York: Dover Publications, 1994.
    Chancellor, John. Audubon . New York: Viking Press, 1978.
    Corning, Howard, ed. Letters of John James Audubon, 1826 – 1840. 2 vols. Boston: The Club of Odd Volumes, 1930; New York: Kraus Reprint Co., 1969.
    Ford, Alice. John James Audubon . Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1964.
    Foshay, Ella M. John James Audubon . New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997.
    Herrick, Francis Hobart. Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time . 2 vols. New York: Dover Publications, 1968.
    Olson, Roberta J. M. Audubon’s Aviary: The Original Watercolors for “The Birds of America . ” New York: Skira Rizzoli Publications and New-York Historical Society, 2012.
    Sanders, Scott Russell, ed. Audubon Reader: The Best Writings of John James Audubon . Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986.
    Streshinsky, Shirley. Audubon: Life and Art in the American Wilderness . New York: Villard Books, 1993.

About Nancy Plain

    Nancy Plain is the author of numerous children’s books, including Light on the Prairie: Solomon D. Butcher, Photographer of Nebraska’s Pioneer Days (available in a Bison Books edition), winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction, the Nebraska Book Award for Youth