Note 207 — Chapter XXXV · FINAL WORK DAYS
Reading edition
For "C," meaning Alexander Culbertson, a young Englishman, famous rider and shot, then in charge of Fort Union at the mouth of the Yellowstone. Audubon, with the assistance of Sprague, painted his portrait and that of his wife, a Blackfoot Indian princess, who also was noted for her skill in horsemanship. "I lost the head of my first [buffalo] bull head," said Audubon, "because I forgot to tell Mrs. Culbertson that I wished to save it, and the princess had its skull broken open to enjoy its brains. Handsome, and really courteous and refined in many ways, I cannot reconcile myself to the fact that she partakes of raw animal food, with such evident relish." (Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and his Journals, vol. ii, p. 111).
For previous and following extracts, see C. L. Bachman, op. cit., p. 208.