John (JK) Townsend (1809-1851) was a young physician and pharmacist living in Philadelphia, but his passion was natural history and bird collecting. You can imagine his parent’s presumed disappointment when he threw away his medical career and embarked on an expedition to the western U.S. to collect specimens in 1834. 

At just 25, he joined English botanist Thomas Nuttall on Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth's second expedition to the Pacific Northwest, becoming one of the first scientist-explorers to cross the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific in one trip. During this journey and his subsequent travels, Townsend discovered 30 new bird and mammal species, many of which were later named after him, including Townsend's ground squirrel, Townsend's chipmunk, Townsend's mole, Townsend's vole, Townsend's pocket gopher, and Townsend's big-eared bat. His expedition, which lasted until 1837, took him through the American West, to Hawaii, and home again around Cape Horn.

He described his journey in great detail in his Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains. Among his travels was a visit to the Columbia River in Washington State. It’s here that he mentions the only encounter with a mountain lion for the entire journey. He wrote: “Early this morning, a large panther was seen prowling around our camp, and the hallooing of last night was explained. It was the dismal, distressing yell by which this animal entices its prey, until pity or curiosity induces it to approach to its destruction. The panther is said to inhabit these forests in considerable numbers, and has not unfrequently been known to kill the horses of a camp. He has seldom the temerity to attack a man, unless sorely pressed by hunger or infuriated by wounds.”

It was on this trip and in this general area that Townsend collected the second-oldest entry recorded by the Boone and Crockett Club—a cougar from Columbia River, Washington, in 1834.   It’s not entirely clear if he personally killed the cougar or if it was someone else on the expedition. It’s also possible that he traded for it with one of the local Tribes. The current owner is the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 

One of John James Audubon's many illustrations, aided in large part by the specimens and descriptions sent to him by collectors like J.K. Townsend.

Collector Problems 

While expeditions certainly had their hardships, the scientists also had to contend with thirsty and hungry companions. In November 1834, Townsend was away from his collection, and his fellow travelers couldn’t find a nearby supply of whiskey. They turned to the alcohol Townsend used to embalm his specimens and ruined months of collecting. Even his specimens were fair game when food was scarce. “I was surprised to find Mr. N. and Captain T. picking the last bones of a bird which they had cooked. Upon inquiry, I ascertained that the subject was an unfortunate owl which I had killed in the morning, and had intended to preserve, as a specimen,” Townsend wrote. 

Despite the challenges, Townsend arrived home in Philadelphia with many specimens. He sold nearly 100 of them to fellow collector John James Audubon who illustrated most of them in his expansive work, Birds of America. Townsend wasn’t happy. He thought Audubon didn’t give him enough credit for supplying the birds, and he made plans to produce a catalog of his own. It never happened. 

On the left is one of the many bird specimens collected and preserved by Townsend. This is Dendroica townsendi, aka the Townsend's warbler. On the right is a sour-looking Audubon. 

Townsend worked as a curator of the collections of both the Academy of Natural Sciences and the National Institute for the Promotion of Science in Washington, D.C. Because of his years spent working to preserve specimens, he used arsenic extensively. This resulted in his untimely death at just 42. 

PJ DelHomme writes and edits content from his home in western Montana. He runs Crazy Canyon Media and Crazy Canyon Journal. 

TROPHY STATS

Second Oldest Entry in the Records

SCORE: 15  B&C points

LOCATION: Columbia River, WA

HUNTER: J.K. Townsend 

DATE: 1834

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About Adventures from the Archives

The Boone and Crockett Club’s records contain more than 70,000 big game entries, from musk ox to mule deer. Among those entries are more than a few stories of adventures afield. To celebrate those trophies, their habitat, and the hunter, we’re bringing those stories back to life with each installment of Boone and Crockett’s Adventures from the Archives.