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
February 27, 1833
Wind all night and this morning. Overcast sky. At seven thirty, -3°R [25. 3°F, -3.8°C]. I went out to get the ducks I shot yesterday. The first of these was being eaten by vultures, which I drove off. I soon shot an Anas rufitorque; Duclos’ dog, however, would not retrieve [it] from the water for me. We got the teal but flushed at least forty ducks from the pond where it floated. None of the ducks returned. On the way back I shot another crow, the companion of which cawed furiously, whereby several others were enticed there. Today I found a small plant already in bloom (Arabis rhomboidea) and others of the same variety with buds, even though it was very raw and a very cold wind was blowing. At twelve o’clock noon, 2°R [36.5°F, 2.5°C]. The small pools, too, were still covered with ice. In the afternoon, Dreidoppel and Mr. Bodmer went out; the former shot a duck, which he did not get. In the evening I received a letter from Pastor Seidel in Bethlehem and another one from Wöhler, also in Bethlehem, in which I was notified of the arrival of Dr. Saynisch in Liverpool. We stayed at home that evening. Mr. Say returned from Mount Vernon.