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 2, 1833
In the morning, very beautiful, clear sky; good weather. At seven thirty, −2 1/2°R [26.4°F, −3.1°C]. We worked at home today. Mr. Say, who feels better, visited me for a short while. At twelve noon, 5°R [43.3°F, 6.3°C]. In the afternoon, a short hunting excursion by boat to Cutoff Island. But because we had no ferryman and the water was rising rapidly, and the current therefore very swift, it drove us onto a thick tree trunk when we tried to land on the opposite side, and our boat tilted sharply. When we saw that we could not make a good landing, we returned to the other bank and shot several birds. Dreidoppel packed mussels, and later I wrote some letters to Göttingen. Russel, the hunter, brought two turkey buzzards, one of which is alive.
In the evening I paid a visit to Mr. Say, where I met Mr. Maclure. I heard some interesting news, and we talked at length about the Indians and their strong, vigorous characters. An example from the Cincinnati newspaper, dated 26 January 1833, which I own: here reference is made to the famous Chief of the Miamis (see Thatcher Indian biography) (called Little Turtle); [also] in Volney. When he [Volney] first met this man in Philadelphia, he used to visit him frequently to question him [Little Turtle] about his language. One day he had been asking him at length about the origin of the Americans and finally told him he believed the Indians came from Europe and had migrated to this country from over there. After listening for a long while, Little Turtle said, “he believed rather that the Europeans came from America.”
This evening the first steamboat from Shawneetown came up the Wabash. Night very clear and beautiful.