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
November 9, 1832
During the night, bright with beautiful, clear moonlight. Cold. At eight o’clock -1°R [29.8°F, -1.3°C]. Bright, beautiful sunshine. In the forenoon Mr. Lesueur visited me; in the afternoon Dreidoppel went out to shoot. He brought back the large pods of the Gymnocladus canadensis, which contain thick, blackish brown kernels. In America they have been used in place of coffee, but they are a poor substitute.
I went walking with Messrs. Say and Lesueur; afterward they came to my place, and we spent the evening at home. This morning the young man from the Fox River brought us a deer and five wild turkeys; he had shot the latter during the night by moonlight. They were too poorly preserved for us to use them for our collection.