Early in the morning, dreary, foggy weather. At seven thirty, 9 1/4°R [52.8°F, 11.6°C]. It was drizzling, and at eleven o’clock this turned to steady rain. Today I preserved the swamp plants from Long Pond on Fox Island and discovered that, besides that nice aquatic plant with its incised, velvety, feltlike leaves, there were other plants that I hope Professor Treviranus in Bonn will quickly identify. I placed a Scalopus in spirits in order to have its skeleton prepared in Germany. I found very good information in David Thomas’ travels in North America (Auburn, 1819) about diseases in this country and the ways to behave in this respect, which fully correspond to my own experience. At twelve noon, temperature of 10 1/2°R [55.6°F, 13.1°C]. Heavy rain all day, yet a large number of backwoodsmen rode in and out all day, some without coats, some in their dirty old plaids; in their woolen blanket-coats they paid no heed at all to the rain.

This afternoon I took notes from D. Thomas’ travels, which also provides extensive information on the environs of the Wabash and the climate of these regions. He was somewhat of a botanist, but his remarks on zoology are worthless and very incomplete. Today I consulted Smith Barton’s work (New Views of the Origin of the Tribes etc. of America). He lists the following nations and compares their languages: 1. The Delawares (Lenni-Lennàppe, i.e., the original people), so named by the English because they lived along the Delaware, hence in Pennsylvania. The French called them Loups. They say that they once inhabited a broad strip of land far to the east and south along the coast. They consisted of three or four tribes: the Unàmis, or Wanàmis; the Unalachtigo, or Wunadachtigo; and the Minsi, or Monsis. There was also a fourth small tribe, the name of which is not known. The Mohicans, or Mohicanni, also undoubtedly descended from them. All the southern and western nations designated the Lenni-Lennàppe with the name Wapanachki or “people toward the sunrise.” The Wyandots and the six nations called the Lennis their nephews, and the latter recognized the former as their uncles. 2. The Chippewas (see Carver’s accounts) speak a dialect of the Delaware language. They made up one of the groups among the Indians who defeated General St. Clair in 1791. 3. The Minsi, or Monsis (see further above), were darker than the other Indians. 4. The Mahikanni, or Mohikans, were originally descended from the Delawares. Presumably De Laet refers to them when he uses the name Mankikani. Mohikanders and Mohiccans were named from that. The majority of them settled in Oneida. Several of them, the Stockbridge Indians, live near in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. 5. The Shawnees, actually Sawwannoo or Sawanos, formerly lived on the Savannah River in Georgia but migrated north to Pequea in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. One of their tribes was called Picawes, from which the name Pequea is derived. One branch did not migrate but instead entered the confederation of the Muskohgue, or Creeks. They are called Savanucas or Savannas and still speak their old language. Formerly the Sawwannoo had a large territory, from Kentucky southwest to the Mississippi. Like the Delaware, they were subjugated by the five nations. 6. The Pottowatomehs, or Pouteòtamies, live near St. Joseph and Detroit. A very large, handsome race; Charlevoix calls them the most handsome men in Canada. 7. The Miamis, or Miamies, on the Miami River around Fort St. Joseph. The Ouyatanons, or Wiahtanah, are a branch of them. 8. The Messisaugers, or Messasagues: dirty Indians around Lake Huron and Lake Superior [Southeastern Ojibwe]. 9. The Kikkapous, Oucahipoues, or Kicapous, live along Lake Michigan and between it and the Mississippi. They are regarded as a branch of the Sawwannoo. 10. The Piankishaws, actually Pian kishas [a Miami-speaking tribe], inhabit the banks of the Wabash near Fort Ouiatanon. 11. The Algonkins (see Charlevoix). Actually the term is too general. 12. Indians of Penobscot and St. Johns inhabit the banks of these rivers. 13. Acadian, according to De Laet, in Acadia around Portus Regalis. He calls them Souriquosii. 14. Narragansets, several tribes in New England. 15. Pampticoughs [an Algonquin group] are mentioned by Lawson. 16. The Sankikani along the western bank of the Hudson, or Manhattes [a general term for Indians of the area]. 17. The five nations: a. Senecas, b. Mohawks, c. Onondagos, d. Cayugas, e. Oneidas. They called their alliance “the strong house.” Lived between Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, and from Kittatinne to the Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The Mohawks separated from the others in 1757; some of them are settled on the Grand River near Niagara, others about 40 miles from Cataraqui. f. The Tuscaroras, or Tuskeruro, comprise the sixth nation in the union, which one then calls the six nations. Formerly [they] lived on the borders of North Carolina and were driven away by the English and Cherokees. Their language [is] related to that of the five nations. 18. The Cochnewagoes, a branch of the Mohawks. Their village was situated 9 miles from Montreal and was called Cahnuaga or Cocknawaga. Contains 200 houses and 800 inhabitants. Already very civilized. 19. The Wyandots belong to the same tribe as the five nations. [They] live around Fort St. Joseph and Detroit. According to Lewis Evans, they are identical with the Foxes, or Outagamis. In 1751 they united allied themselves with the Delawares. They are also called Junundats and, if Barton is not in error, Wanats; the French perhaps called them, along with other nations, Hurons. 20. Sioux, or Naudowessies (see Carver’s Travels). Barton regarded them as a branch of the Wyandots, since they are said to have lived formerly in the region of Detroit on the Huron River. 21. The Hochelagenses of De Laet on the Hochelaga, or St. Lawrence River appear [to be] related to the five nations. 22. Cherakees, or Cherokies, once very powerful. In sixty-four cities and villages, very populous (see Smith Barton, p. 43). They have a light complexion. 23. The Muskohge, Muscokees, or Creeks, a sizable confederation. They lived in the middle between the Cheerake, [of] Georgia [and] East and West Florida, and the Choktahs and Chikkasahs. Were divided into Upper and Lower Creeks; the latter are the Siminoles. 24. The Chikkasah, Chicachas, or Chicasaws, in the western part of Georgia north of the Choktahs, in beautiful country. 25. The Choktah, or Chaktah, also Chakktas, east of the Mississippi, south of the Chikkasah and Cherokee, west of the Muskohge. According to Adair, the Chikkasah, the Choktah, and the Chokehooma came as a family from the west. The Choktah are called flatheads because they pressed their children’s heads with a sandbag. 26. The Katahba were once a considerable tribe. In the north and northeast, they bordered on North Carolina; east and southeast, on South Carolina; southwest, on the Cherake. They pressed their children’s heads. 27. About the Woccons, Barton provides no more information than Lawson. At the beginning of the eighteenth century [they] lived in North Carolina. 28. The Natchez (see Charlevoix, DuPratz, and other writers). Next come the Myacaw, which lead us too far afield.

I spent the evening at the home of Mr. Say, who was sensitive, just like the rest of us, to the sudden changes of weather and was not feeling well. There I received a letter, dated 14 January, from Mr. Gebhard in New York informing me that my first eight cases of natural history specimens have been sent to Europe. There they do not think war in Europe is likely. Mr. Say received news from Boston that a ship, which was supposed to bring him a chest with natural history specimens, had been wrecked.