Four-and-a-Half Months’ Stay in New Harmony
Description of the region – Natural history – Messrs. Say, Lesueur, and Owen – Hunting excursions in Indiana and Illinois – Wabash, Fox River – Illinois prairies – Albion – Black River – Mr. Bodmer’s trip to New Orleans
December 21, 1832
All night long a raw, cold wind had been blowing, which subsided a little in the morning. The sky was bright and clear; the sun shone before eight o’clock. At seven thirty, −19° -11°R [7.3°F, -13.8°C]. The roofs are white with hoarfrost. The cattle stand about on the streets, and women in their plaid coats milk the cows there. These animals now subsist largely on the dried-out leaves of Indian corn, which remain on the stalks of these plants that stand in the fields all winter long. At eight thirty I took an early walk to the river, where, however, I did not see any living animal except cattle, horses, and pigs. Ice was already floating on the river, and the Cutoff River, a rather narrow branch of the Wabash, had stationary ice and large sheets of drift ice. Some of the drift ice, which was driven by the current against tree trunks firmly stuck in the water, shattered there; this produced a continuing, frequently strange, loud noise. The wind, which blew up the river, was very cold and piercing. The smaller runs and ditches had all frozen solid during the night.
On the way home I met Russel, the hunter, with whom Dreidoppel had gone to the Fox River. Yesterday he had again brought turkeys to town for sale. Mr. Owen visited us later and invited us for lunch on Tuesday. At twelve o’clock, temperature of -7°R [16.3°F, -8.8°C]. Mr. Owen had news from his brother in England, who had boarded a ship for America at the beginning of October. An extraordinarily severe storm had then occurred so that Mr. Owen had turned back. Two Liverpool packets had been wrecked during this storm, as well as two packets that were bound for New Orleans.
During the afternoon it was somewhat more pleasant. I went out but found only one duck on the river and no other birds. On my return I found Mr. Twigg, who had brought me twenty-four books of blotting paper, a rarity not available in Harmony now. Mr. Bodmer left after I had. Today Mr. Say sent me a specimen of the large local field mouse, of which I made a description. Mr. Bodmer returned at dusk; he had seen five or six large birds, which probably were prairie hens, on a tree. Dreidoppel returned late, after it had been dark for a long time. He had had to wait a good two hours for the Wabash ferry. He and Russel, the hunter, had hunted turkeys 4 miles from the river. The birds were very shy and Russel had shot only a young one, which because of the piercing cold Dreidoppel did not want to burden himself with. On the other hand, he had shot four parakeets in a flight of twenty when the temperature was -11°R [ 7.3°F, -13.8°C]. They had made a fire inside an enormous Platanus trunk—its circumference was 41 feet, 5 inches, and the hollow area inside had a diameter of 12 feet—and warmed themselves somewhat. We spent the evening at the home of Mr. Say.