15 November: In the morning, bright, beautiful, cold weather. At seven thirty, -5°R [20.8°F, -6.3°C]. Dr. Dake paid me a visit and gave me his advice. At twelve noon, 4°R [41°F, 5°C]. Today Mr. Lesueur gave me the bark of the red elm (Ulmus rubra), the tree that is called slippery elm here. When boiled or chewed, this bark provides a viscous, slimy liquid, which is excellent for drawing the inflammation from wounds, as well as an internal remedy for alleviating diarrhea, like flaxseeds. This forenoon I was surprised to receive a voluminous letter from Germany, dated the 1st of September, which brought me very pleasant news, except for the advance of cholera to the Rhine. At the same time I received letters from Mr. Volz and Dr. Saynisch in Pittsburgh.

Afternoon walk with Mr. Say downriver along the island. We found various kinds of seeds [and,] in the meadow along the Wabash, the mounds heaped up by the native mole (Scalopus canadensis), just like the European one. [We] saw the stony banks, where the river has completely torn away the carriage road that was once there. Here the woods are now completely leafless, especially since there are no evergreen trees at all. Even several woody species that are very common in Pennsylvania do not grow here: for example, rhododendron and Kalmia. This, on the other hand, is the true homeland of Catalpa [and] Bignonia radicans and crucigera. Along the Wabash I found undergrowth in the form of Hydrangea arborescens, Euonymus, Symphoria,M19[It] is called tea-plant here, [but] in the prairies of Illinois, Ceanothus americanus is called tea-plant. During the Revolutionary War, when England tried to compel the consumption of Chinese tea, Ceanothus was drunk in its place. The Yankees tossed a shipload of genuine tea into the ocean. With this and similar disorders, the Revolution began. Annona triloba, and other plants. Bignonia radicans and crucigera, Rhus radicans, Vitis labrusca, Hedera quinquefolia and perhaps several other plants entwined the trunks.

We saw no birds except Fringilla hudsonia, and we heard crows calling from afar. C. Bonaparte, too, considers this crow to be the European [Corvus] corone; an exact comparison must be made in Europe. The seeds I brought home today included those of Eupatorium coelestinum, Elephantopus, Physalis, and several plants from the Didynamia.

At dusk Mr. Bodmer and his hunting companion returned home from hunting; they brought three turkeys, one splendid wild goose (Anser canadensis), two large owls, and four parakeets. They had seen about fifty turkeys (on the first day, seven bunches) and a large number of parakeets. Mr. Bodmer could not bring down the turkeys with the shotgun. They were too far away and had to be bagged with the rifle. He missed one of these birds, which the hunter had lured very close to him.

The hunter shot extraordinarily far and never missed with his rifle, which was over four feet in length. He used small lead bullets, from eighty to 120 to the pound. His dog was not well trained; he followed the flushed birds, however, and barked at them as soon as they flew onto trees. The hunter shot down one turkey, loaded again, and shot a second one, since the others remained perched there so long. He shot the leg off one such bird. It flew away, but the dog scented the blood and caught the bird on the ground.

Mr. Bodmer shot a splendid wild goose in flight [and] saw numerous ducks. While he was lying in wait for them, a mink came up the riverbank and he wounded it, but it reached its burrow under an old tree root.

Very crude, inhospitable people lived in the house where the young hunter dwelled. Their log hut was wretched and small. The wind blew through the [chinks in the] walls, and yet the people were well-to-do, since they owned eighty acres of land. In the evening Mr. Bodmer was given a piece of bacon and a small container of sour milk. He and the hunter had to sleep in the same bed. On the following morning, he did not get any breakfast; he had to leave hungry and got some breakfast at another house. For two days he roamed the extensive forests along the Fox River; found the trails of deer, raccoons, turkeys, etc.; and saw magnificent huge trees, especially Platanus. The reed (Miegia) was often very troublesome for the hunters. They had to force their way through it, and this made their hands sore. In the evening Mr. Lesueur visited us.