CHAPTER VIII

DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY ABOUT NEW HARMONY IN INDIANA, AND WINTER RESIDENCE THERE FROM OCTOBER 19TH, 1832, TO MARCH 16TH, 1833

New Harmony on the Wabash--The Environs--Forests--Animals--Geological Formation--Climate--Aborigines--Remains of the former Population--The present Indians--The White Usurpers--Cultivation of the Country--Productions--Breed of Cattle--Buffaloes--The Naturalists at Harmony--Excursions--Fox River--Black River--Long Pond--The present sanitary State of the Country.

New Harmony was founded by Mr. Rapp, and his Swabian followers, in a wooded plain on the left or east bank of the Wabash, about fifteen or twenty miles distant from any other place. As Duke Bernhard of Saxe Weimar has already spoken on this subject, I need not give any further account of the history of this settlement; I will only add that Mr. Owen, a Scotchman, bought the whole of Mr. Rapp, but afterwards disposed of it to Mr. William Maclure, President of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.[83] At the time of our visit, Harmony had fallen into decay, and the people whom Mr. Maclure had settled there, were in part dispersed. Two sons of Mr. Owen were, however, still here, and also Mr. Thomas Say, and Mr. Lesueur; the first, well known as having accompanied Major Long in his two journeys into the interior, and the second, by his voyage round the world with Captain Baudin, and the celebrated Piron. Though Mr. Maclure did not appear to take any active part in the management of Harmony, because the climate did not agree with him, and he therefore resided in Mexico, he took care to furnish Mr. Say with a fine library of books on Natural History, which was constantly enriched with the most valuable new works published in Europe. He likewise had here a printing press, a copper-plate press, and an engraver. Mr. Maclure had purchased in France all the plates of Audebert and Vieillot's splendid ornithological works, which are preserved in the library.[84] Mr. Say has undertaken the superintendence of Mr. Maclure's property on the Wabash, but lives in a very retired manner, devoted to the study of natural history, and to literary pursuits.

[pg. 75] Harmony is now a large village, with about 600 inhabitants; the buildings, which are partly of brick, are detached from each other; the streets are at right angles, broad, and unpaved. The church built by Mr. Rapp has been transformed into an amateur theatre. The situation of Harmony is by no means unpleasant. The Wabash, a fine river, as broad as the Moselle, winds between banks which are now cultivated, but were lately covered with thick forests. A hilly tract, covered with woods, bounds the valley of the Wabash, which is frequently overflowed by the river, and thereby gains in fertility. The place itself lies rather higher than the valley, surrounded by orchards, and is not exposed to inundations. The Wabash divides at Harmony into two arms, the eastern of which is called Cutoff River,[85] and further down into several branches, forming many wooded islands, the largest of which are inhabited.

New Harmony,[86] is surrounded on all sides by fields, which are from 600 to 800 paces in diameter; all around are lofty forests, where settlers have everywhere cultivated detached patches. These people are generally called backwoodsmen, who live like half savages, without any education or religious instruction. The forests which they inhabit are very extensive, and the soil extremely fertile: vegetation is much more luxuriant than to the east of the Alleghanys; and, therefore, a short description of the natural productions of the country will not be out of place here.

Some remarkable peculiarities strike the observer when he looks at the forests on the Wabash; one of these is the want of evergreens, if we except the _Viscum flavescens_, _Pursh_, _Bignonia cruciata_, _Equisetum hyemale_, and _Miegia macrosperma_. The leaves of that bignonia, for the most part, remain green in the winter, as well as those of the miegia, and the stalks of the _Equisetum hyemale_, at least, in mild winters, which often grow to the height of eight or ten feet in the dry forests. The planes often attain an enormous size, and are then generally hollow, and divided into several colossal branches. We measured several of these trees, and found one that was forty one feet five inches in circumference. The hollow inside was twelve feet in diameter, so that in our winter excursions we used to light a fire in it, where we sheltered from the wind. Tall tulip trees shoot up straight as masts, blossom, and bear seeds at their summits, unseen by human eye. Maples of great height and circumference, many species of oak, especially the mossy overcap oak (_Q. macrocarpa_), with its large acorns, which, at this time, lay on the ground, stand crowded together. A great many species of trees are mixed together; among them the _Gymnocladus Canadensis_, or _Guilandina Bonduc_, with its broad pods, the divers kinds of walnut trees, the _Gleditschia tricanthos_, with its formidable thorns; and many climbing plants twine round the trunks, and among them, the most beautiful of all, the _Bignonia radicans_.

In the forests of Indiana the ground is covered with a thick undergrowth, fifteen, twenty, or thirty feet high, consisting chiefly of the papaw tree, the spinewood (_Laurus Benzoin_), and the red bud; the flowers of the two latter precede the leaf. Under these lower trees, shrubs cover [pg. 76] the ground. No pine, rhododendron, kalmia, azalea, magnolia, nor even the chestnut tree, are found in these forests; but they seem to be especially the native country of the beautiful catalpa tree, of which it was not known in what part of America it properly grew wild, and which here attains a considerable height and size.

These lofty forests re-echo with the hammering of the numerous woodpeckers; and, during the winter, the scarlet cardinal (_Fring. cardinalis_) shines in the distance; and the titmouse (_Parus. bicolor_, and _Atricapillus_), and the nuthatch (_Sitta Carolinensis_), everywhere seek for insects and nuts.

The inhabitants of these forests would never be in want of an ample supply of wood for fuel and for timber, if they had been at all careful. The black walnut and cherry tree wood are the best for cabinet work; and for fuel, the hickory, which affords more heat than beech wood. The price of wood, at Harmony, was one dollar for a cord; but the price is already rising, because the forest in the neighbourhood of the village is gradually cleared, and the carriage is more expensive.

There are several kinds of officinal plants in the vicinity of Harmony; ginseng (_Panax_) grows close by the village, and its roots are still in request, but not so much as formerly. Another plant of the woods of Indiana, which is much esteemed, is the spurious Colombo root; likewise the peppermint, which grows in every part of the United States. The wax tree (_Myrica cerifera_), of the berries of which the green, fragrant tapers are made, does not grow in Indiana, but is found on the whole east coast, from New Jersey to Florida. A kind of bark, which is now much used, is that of the slippery elm (_Ulmus rubra_): if chewed, or softened for a moment in water, it dissolves into a viscous slime, and is found very useful in dressing wounds, as it is cooling, and allays the inflammation. It is said to have been applied with success in cholera, and is now sold, in powder, in all the apothecaries' shops. A teaspoonful of this bark, in boiling water, makes a very useful beverage, which is sweetened with sugar, and has the same effect as linseed. Michaux has given a print of this elm, and it would be desirable to cultivate it in our gardens.

The country on the banks of the Wabash is as interesting to the zoologist as to the botanist; formerly there were great numbers of the bison or buffalo of the Anglo-Americans, the elk,[87] bear, and beaver; but they are now entirely extirpated. The Virginian deer is still pretty numerous, but is daily becoming more scarce: when Mr. Rapp first settled here, seventy of these deer were shot, in a day, in one of the Wabash islands. The wolf is still common, and seems to differ but little from the European, but is a different species from the wolf of the prairies of the Missouri; [pg. 77] it is said that there is a black wolf in the prairies of Illinois, which may, perhaps, be a distinct species. Of foxes, I saw only the grey, though the red fox is said to be found here. In the works that treat of the natural history of North America, there are many errors. The racoon is common in the forests of Harmony, and is never seen in the daytime; it is hunted in the night with dogs, which drive it into a tree. It does not sleep through the winter, for I often obtained it in that season. The opossum is also common, and lives much in the same manner as the racoon. The polecat, the otter, and the mink are common; the pine marten is said to be sometimes seen; the ermine is not rare in the prairies of Illinois. The marmot, or ground hog, grows to a considerable size, and is found in the islands of the Wabash; the musk-rat abounds in all the rivers. The rabbit, as it is called (_Lepus Americanus_), is nowhere so common as in Europe, yet is found in all parts of the country. Of squirrels there are many species.

The most interesting of the birds of this part is the wild turkey, which was formerly extremely numerous, and is still pretty common. A large cock was sold at Harmony for a quarter of a dollar. A young man in the neighbourhood, who supplied the place with this delicate game, had often ten or fifteen hanging about his horse at the same time. The pheasant or heathcock is found in these forests, but in no great numbers. The prairie hen is common in the prairies of Illinois, and comes in large flocks to the neighbourhood of Harmony, as soon as the cold weather and snow set in. Partridges abound, and so do parrots (_Psitt. Carolinensis_) which remain here during the winter. No other kind of parrot seems to bear so great a degree of cold as this. We often saw them flying about in the forests, feeding on the fruit of the plane, when Reaumur's thermometer was at 11 deg. below zero. In the mild climate of the Ohio and Wabash they remain all the year through. They are amusing birds in a cage, and become very tame.

There are but few species of amphibia in the country about Harmony. Soft shell turtles and several kinds of _emys_ are numerous, such as the snapping turtle (_E. serpentina_), likewise _E. geographica_, _picta_, _pulchella_, &c.

There are several lizards, but no great number of species. The rattle-snake is seldom seen, this country not being sufficiently dry and stony; the copper-head, on the contrary, is said not to be rare, but I cannot speak with certainty. The hognose-snake is very common. There are many kinds of adder in the Wabash that are not venomous.

The proteus (_Menobranchus lateralis_, Harl.) of the Ohio, and of the great Canadian lakes, is found in the Wabash. The rude inhabitants have many superstitious notions and fables respecting several kinds of animals, especially serpents. Of the glass-snake (_Ophisaurus ventralis_), which easily breaks to pieces, they say, that when the pieces are placed together, they immediately unite: they affirm that the horn-snake, which has a horn or sting at the end of its tail, takes it in its mouth, and then runs along like a hoop; and that if it passes a tree it wounds it with its sting, which always makes the tree die. Mr. Thomas Say was once informed that a [pg. 78] planter had brought one of these snakes, and would prove the truth of this assertion. He sent for the man, and found that he had the tail of one of these snakes carefully wrapped up. Mr. Say asked him whether he must die if he pricked himself with this horn? The man answered "undoubtedly." Mr. Say immediately pricked himself with the horn and drew blood, but was not affected by it; and the impostor, who affirmed that he had witnessed the effects of the sting, excused himself by saying that he had been deceived by a neighbour who gave him the snake. The inhabitants of the country generally believe that venomous serpents sting both with the tongue and with the tail, that they fascinate other animals, an old, long since refuted fable, which, however, is occasionally revived in American journals, with other stories of a similar kind.

There are many kinds of fish in the Wabash, on the whole the same as in the Ohio and the Mississippi: the cat-fish is said sometimes to weigh above 100 lbs. Several species of sturgeon and pikes are found here; the horn-fish, the buffalo (_Catastomus carpioles_), a large fish resembling the carp, &c. The remarkable paddle-fish is likewise met with, but not frequently, nor in all the rivers. Mr. Lesueur has given it the name of _ptalyrostra_, and has sent several specimens of it to Paris. This naturalist, during his long residence at Harmony, has very carefully studied this branch of zoology. He possesses a large collection of drawings and descriptions of this class, and specimens, for the most part stuffed. He has presented many of them to the National Museum at Paris; and it was his intention soon to visit Europe, and publish his observations on this subject, which will form an important supplement to the great work of Cuvier and Valenciennes.

The bivalve shells (_Unio_, _Alasmodon_, and _Anodonta_), of which there are a great many different species, some of them very large and beautiful, are an interesting portion of the natural productions of the Ohio, the Wabash, and the tributary streams, especially Fox River. Several American naturalists have written on this subject. Mr. Say, who was the first, states the number of species of these bivalves at forty-four. He would have given descriptions and drawings of all the species existing in this country, as well on land as in the rivers, in his natural history of the North American testacea, had not death called him from this world, too soon for his friends and for science. He died on the 10th of October, 1834, soon after I had left him in good health on my second visit to Harmony. This part of the country has two species of crustacea (_Astacus Bartoni_, Bosc.), and (_Astacus affinis_, Say), which are here called craw-fish. These are the only large species of crustacea, but there are many smaller ones. Mr. Say, by many years' study, made himself fully acquainted with the insects. It is remarkable that the bee, which was brought to America by the Europeans, is now common in all the forests; the Indians are said to call this insect the white-man's fly. Many beautiful butterflies and moths adorn the woods of Indiana.

The eminences about Harmony are of secondary formation, with a basis of limestone, and upon that, strata of sandstone, clay-slate and indurated clay. The land in the neighbourhood of [pg. 79] Harmony is extremely fertile. The fields are not manured for many successive years, and produce the finest crops; such land, however, in good situations, is no longer cheap. The climate is salubrious, and the inhabitants attain a great age. The winters are generally mild; the changes of temperature are often very great and rapid. The cholera has not yet visited this country. We arrived at the season called the Indian summer, when, with a temperature of +16 deg. to 17 deg. Reaumur, the atmosphere was gloomy and misty. Most persons experience, at this season, irregularities in the digestive organs, and head-ache. Poeppig gives a very accurate account of the North American autumn, and Mrs. Trollope felt the peculiar effect of this warm autumnal weather on strangers; it is, however, very remarkable that this state of the atmosphere in the Ohio Valley quickly put an end to the cholera, on which Dr. Daniel Drake wrote an essay.[88] The weather in the wintertime is generally bright and clear; sometimes there are fogs, and hoar frost, which encrusts the trees with the most beautiful crystals: parhelia and aurora borealis are frequently seen. On the 14th of December we had a tremendous thunder-storm at daybreak; Reaumur's thermometer was at +2 deg.; the rain, thunder, and lightning were equally violent; the latter covered the heavens with a sheet of fire, and was extremely dazzling; the thunder resembled a discharge of artillery. We were told that, in the preceding year, 1831, the weather had been exceedingly unhealthy, and the inhabitants even affirmed that wounds would not heal.

Like the whole of the interior of North America, the country on the Wabash has still numerous traces of a very early extinct original population, of which even the present Indians have no traditions, and whose remains have been spoken of by many writers. Warden, in his account of the United States, and more particularly in the great work, entitled "Antiquites Mexicaines," has mentioned such remains in all the states, and collected much information on this subject. Here, too, in the neighbourhood of Harmony, there are ancient tumuli, which, externally, are exactly similar to those which are everywhere found in our German forests. Lesueur had examined many of these tumuli, and sent part of the articles found in them to France. Some of the most considerable tumuli were found on the spot, near the back of the village, where Rapp made his churchyard, and which is now planted with acacias. The bones of the Swabian peasants are here mingled with those of the aboriginal Indians. Lesueur dug through some of those tumuli, which are now much levelled, and covered with greensward, and found a right-angled oblong parallelogram, level at the bottom, formed of large flat stones, set edgewise, and likewise covered over with similar stones. Some decayed bones were found in it, of which I received a considerable number from Mr. Lesueur, and sent them to Mr. Blumenbach, at Goettingen.[89] This mode of interment is not that of the present Indians, who themselves affirm that these tumuli were made by the whites. Most of the skulls which were found were without the bones of the face, and all were very much decayed. The race of men to which they belonged were not smaller than those now existing, and, consequently, afford no evidence of a dwarfish race, which has been fabulously [pg. 80] ascribed to America. Potsherds were found in many of the tumuli; they were made of a grey clay, and in general marked with stripes, or rings; it would appear that they had been moulded in a cloth, or basket, as they were marked with similar impressions, or figures. Mr. Lesueur has seen unbroken vessels of this kind, which were large, very flat, and had figured handles. Broken shells are frequently found intermixed with the dark grey clay of these vessels. In one of the tumuli was found, together with the human bones, the jawbones of an animal of the stag kind; in others, battle-axes, arrow-heads, and tobacco-pipe heads of clay, different in form from those now used in Indiana.

One of these pipes was in the shape of a squatting frog, the mouth serving for the tobacco; some of them are represented in the accompanying woodcuts.[90] Some of the most interesting articles found in and near these graves, are the narrow, oblong, square pieces of flint, which those nations made use of instead of knives. They are from two to two inches and a half long, and scarcely half an inch broad; very thin and very sharp on all the four sides. Several of these knives were discovered near New Harmony, and Mr. Lesueur found one during my stay there. There is a very remarkable coincidence of these knives with the perfectly similar instruments of obsidian or volcanic glass, which are found, even now, in Mexico, some of which Mr. T. Say brought with him, from his journey to that country, and wrote a paper respecting them.[91] In the [pg. 81] forty-eighth plate, I have represented the two kinds of stone knives together, as they seem to testify the affinity of the aborigines of the interior of North America with those of Mexico, which is supported by other reasons.

About fifteen miles from Harmony, lower down the Wabash, is a part of the bank known by the name of the Bone Bank, where the river has partly cut through a hill, or laid it bare, in which there are numbers of human bones seen imbedded in the bank. Mr. Lesueur sent a perfect skull from this spot to Blumenbach. An old tree having fallen down on this place, he saw under the roots an entire human skeleton; this, therefore, was undoubtedly a burying-place. While the observer deeply regrets that he is wholly without information respecting these remarkable remains of antiquity, he feels that the present white population of North America may justly be reproached for neglecting or destroying them. Nobody in Harmony was able to give any account of the names of the Indian tribes who inhabited the country at the time when this village was founded. One of the first settlers of the country about Mount Vernon, who had grown up in Kentucky among the Indians, but had removed, in 1806, to the forests on the Lower Wabash--where at that time there were no white settlers--had been well acquainted with the Indians about Harmony, and frequently visited them in their huts. He was the only man who was able to give me any information about them. He called them Muskoghe Indians; this name, however, seems to be incorrect. They lived in this part of the country till 1810; but in the year preceding the battle of Tippekanoe they all removed, and did not return. They were not numerous, and lived chiefly about the mouth of the Wabash, and on the Big Creek.[92] They were a good-looking, robust race; wore a kind of apron, and had bows and arrows, in the use of which they were very expert. They had among them thirty or forty indifferent guns; they smoked Sumach leaves in wooden pipes,[93] the tube of which was made of cane. Their huts, at the mouth of the Wabash, were composed of large bundles of reeds, lined inside with deer-skins. Many of these Indians fastened their pipes to the tomahawk. Their heads were shorn, with the exception of a tuft at the back, like the Indians of the Mississippi and Lower Missouri. They coloured their faces with red paint. To the whites they were friendly, visited the first settlers in their dwellings, and reposed around their hearths, especially in bad weather. At that time there were elks and beavers, yet in no great numbers; but bears and wolves in abundance. My informant had killed many bears, and great numbers of wild turkeys.

[pg. 82] The early history of Indiana mentions, as the inhabitants of this State, when the French first settled here, the Kickapoos, Musquitons, Potanons, and some other nations, remnants of which are still to be found at the sources of the Wabash, as well as the Piankishaws, Miamis, and Viandots. In the year 1804, a treaty was concluded with them at Vincennes for the purchase of the lands between the Wabash and the Ohio, after which they emigrated.[94] Some well-informed inhabitants of Harmony, who, at the time of the Indiana emigration, when the United States had repeatedly bought land of those people, saw the several dislodged tribes pass through this country, assured me that the character of their physiognomy was often essentially different; and I myself found this confirmed both in North and South America; though the fundamental features of the American race are everywhere the same. All these Indians are now totally extirpated or expelled from Indiana, and the country enjoys the advantage of being peopled by the backwoodsmen.

The fertile and salubrious country of Harmony has attracted a great number of settlers, who have begun to thin the great forests of Indiana. These settlers are usually called backwoodsmen, because they live in the remote forests. They are a robust, rough race of men, of English or Irish origin. They dwell very isolated, scattered in the forests, and but seldom come to the towns, only when business calls them. There is a school at Harmony where the children learn to read and write; two dollars are paid quarterly, and the children receive instruction in the morning and afternoon; but in the country the young people grow up without any education, and are, probably, no better than the Indians themselves. In the Western States, the sixteenth section of the Congress land (_i. e._, land belonging to the Government) is always assigned for the benefit of the schools, but is not always employed according to the first intention. At this time there was in the state of Indiana only one college; it was at Blooming Town.[95] There was no clergyman at Harmony, and, with the exception of the meetings of some religious sects, the inhabitants were destitute of both religious and school instruction. Business, or festive occasions, bring the backwoodsmen into the town, where they indulge their love of whisky, which generally retards their return homeward. They have a good race of horses, and are bold horsemen; even the women are frequently seen on the saddle, and whole families travel in this way--man, woman, and child ofttimes mounted on the same beast. There is nothing characteristic in their costume, like the original dresses which are met with in the country in Germany; but they wear a medley, and bad imitation of all the fashions of English towns; caps, felt and straw hats, frocks, great-coats, plaids, &c. The women, too, endeavour to imitate the fashions of the towns, wear large hats with loose veils, and gaudy plaid mantles, which, altogether, have often a most ludicrous effect in these remote forests. The winter dress of the men is often not ill chosen, though perfectly novel to a stranger. At that season they wear great-coats made of the common woollen horsecloths, white or green, with gay stripes on the collar, cuffs, and pockets; [pg. 83] nay, some are striped all over like zebras: such a coat, of the commonest kind, cannot be had here for less than eight or ten dollars. Noisy parties of these people frequently assemble at the public-houses of Harmony, gather round the fire, and let the whisky circulate briskly, while their horses are frequently left the whole day, standing in the street, amid rain and snow. On Sunday, which is kept by many of the inhabitants, though there is no divine service, they are more decently clad, wash their faces, and make some attempt at putting their hair in order, which hangs dishevelled about their faces. The young men often went to the chase, others played in the streets, generally at ball, but a great number remained at their work, and the peasants and farmers, with their huge wagons, followed their usual occupations. On certain days, especially when a magistrate, a president, or a governor was to be chosen, all were gathered together, for they all take great interest in the government of the country, and would not, on any account, renounce the privilege which, in their estimation, makes them important statesmen. On such election days, whole troops of them ride into the town; the streets are crowded with their horses, which are tied up, and the whisky-shops resound with their tumultuous discussions. Every man gives his vote; disputes arise; and, as in the Polish diets, their excited passions frequently lead to blows. They are all great politicians, and some of them are well acquainted with the newspapers. In the winter, as soon as snow fell, sledge parties commenced at Harmony. Six or eight persons were on separate seats, two and two together, upon one sledge; others amused themselves with skating, for which, however, they had not much opportunity in the winter of 1832-3. There were frequent balls at the inns; on New Year's Eve they literally danced the whole night through.

Agriculture is still in its infancy about New Harmony, and the people depend on the extraordinary fertility of the soil. In the immediate vicinity of the town land is not cheap, having already risen to fifteen dollars per acre; whereas, at the distance of two miles, there was still a considerable quantity of Congress land, which might be had at one dollar per acre. There was a tax of fifty cents, or half a dollar,[96] on every quarter of a square mile of land. What is called Congress land, is frequently taken possession of, for a time, by new comers, who have no right to it. They fell the wood, erect their huts, and nobody hinders them in their proceedings till the lawful owner ejects them, who has purchased the land of the Government. A square mile of [pg. 84] Congress land was still to be had for 100 dollars; but these lands are subject to the periodical inundations of the Wabash, when the farmers are obliged to fly with all their effects to more elevated stations. They have then to look for their cattle in the great forests, and drive them away; but they cannot always find all the animals, many of which perish. The fertility of the soil is increased by these inundations. Congress land which was not exposed to inundation, could be bought for one dollar twenty-five cents per acre. This high water is said often to present an interesting scene. Hogs and other animals, even the opossum, have been found on low trees, where they had sought protection.

The chief vegetable production of this part of the country is maize, which grows to the height of twelve or thirteen feet; the ears are very large and heavy; I found some weighing fourteen to fifteen ounces, and nearly three inches in diameter, in which I counted above 1,000 grains. They ripen in September, October, November, and December, and are often left standing through the winter, till wanted for use. There are fifteen varieties of this important plant; one kind, called sweet corn, is particularly good when roasted in an unripe state. It is calculated that the best soil will yield 100 bushels of corn per acre. Very good cakes and bread are prepared of maize flour, and there are many other ways of dressing it. When boiled with milk it is called mush. All living creatures in this country subsist, almost exclusively, on this invaluable production. When the whites arrived in America numerous Indian tribes subsisted on it; quadrupeds, birds, nay, even fish, are fond of it. At the places where the flat boats, laden with maize, land, the fish collect and assemble in great numbers, and fall an easy prey to the fishermen. At this time the corn was sold at six and a half cents per bushel at Harmony; whereas, on the frontiers of Canada, two dollars were paid for it. Living is, consequently, very cheap on the banks of the Wabash. The maize is brought to market in large wagons, drawn by four oxen, and a considerable quantity is thence sent by water carriage. Other kinds of grain--wheat, rye, barley, and oats--which ripen in June, are likewise cultivated. Barley is grown for the brewers; and oats, in considerable quantities, for the horses. Potatoes, too, are extensively cultivated, but they are by no means so good and mealy as in Germany. There is a great variety of culinary vegetables. There are abundance of apples, but not many pears, which do not thrive; peaches are good, and very productive; quantities fall to the ground, where they are consumed by the hogs; plums and cherries are rarely grown; the latter are not so good as in Europe, but very fruitful. The vine was formerly cultivated, but it is now quite neglected. According to Warden, cotton is grown at Vincennes, Princetown, and Harmony, but this does not seem to be the case at present. This plant does not thrive beyond the 31st degree of latitude. The inhabitants grow hemp and flax for their own consumption, and some tobacco; bad cigars are made at Harmony, and, in general, good tobacco is rarely to be met with in the United States. Maple sugar is manufactured in great abundance in Indiana. Warden says that, in 1810, 50,000 lbs. [pg. 85] were made in this State, and, at present, it was worth seven or eight cents a pound. Many of the inhabitants obtain, in the spring, about 100 lbs. of this sugar. In this part of the country the corn is not thrashed, but generally trodden out by horses; a very imperfect process, which appears to have originated in the times of the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans.

Next to agriculture the breeding of cattle is an important object among the backwoodsmen; but is likewise ill understood. The breed of swine furnishes the principal supply for food and exportation, great quantities of pork being sent to New Orleans. Mr. Owen had established a whisky distillery, and fattened the swine on the refuse. About 1,500 barrels of whisky, worth ten dollars a barrel, were made every year in Mr. Owen's distillery. Great numbers of swine are in the woods of Indiana, far from all human dwellings, where they grow very fat by the abundance of oak and beech mast. They are of a reddish brown colour, with round black spots; there are some quite wild, which anybody is at liberty to shoot. These animals are never housed, even in the vicinity of Harmony. We observed them, in our excursions, in the depth of winter, when the young ones often perish with cold; and we also saw them eaten by the mothers. Dead swine were lying about in all directions, partly devoured by others. The negligence and want of feeling with which the animals are treated, are very great; and, accordingly, the breed of cattle can never flourish. The cattle, which are very fine, are kept in the open air day and night, amidst ice and snow, with which their backs are covered; the same may be said of the horses; nay, in cold moonlight nights, we saw these animals standing in the street, near their master's dwelling, as if they hoped to be let in. The animals are generally fed in the morning with maize, and a woman usually appears at an early hour, in her plaid, to milk the cows.

The cattle of this country are large and handsome, very hardy, and do not differ in figure or colour from those of Germany; no food is given them in winter but the dry leaves of maize. No clover or other forage is cultivated, so that the cattle and horses are confined to straw, the bark of trees, and the green reed, miegia, which forms a thick underwood in the forests on the Wabash. Everywhere one sees the bark and twigs gnawed, and even the fruit trees are often damaged in this manner. Horses and cattle frequently starve to death in the winter. I was told that the animals gnaw, in preference, the nettle-tree (_Celtis occidentalis_), the hack-berry (_Celtis crassifolia_), and the sugar maple. It is remarkable that the swine, which otherwise refuse no species of fruit, will not touch that of the papaw tree (_Asimina_). All the beef in this country is of a bad quality, because, as I have said, no forage is cultivated. In Pennsylvania it is quite the reverse; there a great deal of clover is grown, and the beef is, consequently, good. In Indiana pork is said to be much better and easier of digestion than to the east of the Alleghanys. We saw but few sheep, and no goats, at Harmony. There were plenty of geese and domestic fowls, but only a few tame ducks.

The mode of tilling the ground for the different kinds of grain, has been described by [pg. 86] many travellers; I will therefore merely observe that the plough is different in its construction from that used in Germany, and that the oxen are attached to it by a very peculiar yoke, which consists of a long, thick, crooked piece of wood, which is laid horizontally over the necks of the two oxen, with two bows underneath, through which the heads of the animals are put.[97]

My stay at New Harmony, which was at first intended to be only for a few days, was prolonged by serious indisposition, nearly resembling cholera, to a four months' winter residence. At any other place in this country I should have extremely regretted such a loss of time, but here I derived much instruction and entertainment from my intercourse with two highly-informed men, Mr. Thomas Say and Mr. Lesueur, who, during my two months' illness, gave me constant proofs of kindness, and endeavoured to make our time pass agreeably and usefully. I received also much kindness from other estimable families, Messrs. Owen (who were educated by Fellenberg, in Switzerland), Mr. Maclure and his sister, and Mr. Twigg. My walks and hunting excursions with the two naturalists were very instructive. Mr. Say's house was in a garden, where he cultivated many interesting plants of the interior of Western America. I there saw a large _Maclura aurantiaca_ (Nuttall), the bow or yellow wood, or Osage orange, from the river Arkansas, of the wood of which many Indian tribes make their bows. It is a prickly tree, with very tough wood. There was one at St. Louis, in the garden of Mr. Pierre Chouteau, which did not, however, flourish.[98] Dr. Pitcher had the kindness to give me some of the seeds of this tree, [pg. 87] which, however, have not succeeded. In Mr. Say's garden I likewise saw _Euphorbia marginata_, from Arkansas, several beautiful _phlox_; and the _Lonicera sempervirens_ was laden with its ripe fruit. The _Euphorbia marginata_ flourishes exceedingly well at Bonn, where it was raised from seeds which I brought.

Mr. Say's zoological collection was confined to insects and shells. He was less anxious to possess a complete collection than to have a good library, which, thanks to Mr. Maclure, he really possessed, and new insects and shells were sent to him from all parts of the United States, which he immediately described. He had a very extensive correspondence, even with Europe, and received many conchylia, which he used and compared for his work on American conchology. This work was entirely got up here in Harmony, for Mrs. Say drew and coloured the figures very faithfully after nature, which were engraved by an artist, engaged by Mr. Maclure; the text also was printed there. Mr. Say's entomological collection was continually damaged by the rapacious insects, which are much more dangerous and destructive here than in Europe. The most fatal to the zoological collections, in this country, besides the common European moth (_Phalaena sarcitella_), are the _Dermestes lardarius_, _Anthrinus muscorum_, _Dermestes vulpinus_, _Necrobia violetia_, _Acarus destructor_, and several others, among which there are some brought from Europe.

Mr. Lesueur's labours were chiefly in the higher orders of the animal kingdom; he had explored the country in many directions, was acquainted with everything remarkable, collected and prepared all interesting objects, and had already sent considerable collections to France. He was a skilful draughtsman, and his portfolios of drawings, made during his voyage round the world, and in his residence in America, afforded us much gratification during the winter. He had paid great attention to the fishes of the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi, for which his frequent visits to New Orleans had given him the best opportunity. His friend Barrabino, who died prematurely in that city, and took much interest in the sciences, had been of great assistance to him. It would be a pity if the interesting labours of Mr. Lesueur, in natural history, were not communicated to the learned world during his lifetime.

I shall always retain a most pleasing recollection of the excursions which we made in the neighbourhood of Harmony, with Mr. Say, and to greater distances, with Mr. Lesueur. One of the most agreeable was when we sailed down the Wabash, and landed on its wooded islands. Immediately on the west of the river, is Fox Island, a large thickly wooded tract, between the Wabash and Fox River.[99] We generally left Harmony by water, in bright, sunny weather. The Wabash divides into several arms, forming beautiful romantic islands, covered with tall forests, partly surrounded by quantities of drift wood. The water of the river is clear and dark green, and the bottom, which is plainly seen, is covered with large bivalve shells (_Unio_), as well as with several kinds of snails. High trees uniformly clothe the shore, and colossal, wide-spreading planes rise above the dense forests. In some places there are sand-banks, where shells are [pg. 88] found in abundance, and where the track of the racoon and the mink, which come here in the night to seek their food, are imprinted in all directions on the wet ground. Under the old roots of trees on the bank, which is from ten to twenty feet high, we saw the burrows of the minks, into which it had taken a quantity of shells. The common people here think that this is done by the musk-rat, which is certainly a mistake. The musk-rat lives on vegetables, and it is only the small beasts of prey that live on shell-fish. There were various species of ducks, which rose in flocks before us, and flew rapidly to the undisturbed parts of the banks. Besides the common wild duck, which was the most numerous, there were the beautiful wood duck, the blue-winged teal, and the pintail duck, or sea-pheasant. After proceeding about three quarters of an hour, we usually landed on Fox Island, on the right bank, fastened our boat to the trunk of a large fallen tree, and then went up the steep bank into a thick, lofty forest, where the high reeds were intersected with small, narrow paths, made by the horses and cattle of the neighbouring farmers. From our several landing places, we had to proceed only about 100 steps across the island to the Fox River, which runs here, for a pretty considerable distance, parallel to the Wabash, and joins it below Fox Island.[100] The stream is highly picturesque, with romantic banks, large uprooted trees, colossal planes, magnificent oaks, hickory, shellbark hickory, &c. Here grows the lofty _gymnocladus_, with its large, broad pods, and the beautiful catalpa. _Bignonia radicans_ and _cruciata_ wind round the trunks, as well as thick, clustering vines (_Hedera quinquefolia_) and the poison vine. Vast quantities of fallen trees lay in the water, and, when it was low, often formed a kind of bridge. The trunks of the plane are very remarkable; they are often so thick that five or six men cannot span them. When of this size they are generally hollow. These trees are suffered to grow so old, because they yield but indifferent timber. Twenty or thirty feet from the ground, the trunk usually divides into several thick branches, which rise to a very great height; they have a bark of dazzling whiteness, which forms a singular contrast with the brown forests, when leafless and bare in winter. This tree never attains such a thickness and height in Europe, and hence the white colour of the branches is wanting. The quiet, lonely Fox River is covered, during the whole day, with numerous ducks. Whenever we approached cautiously through the reeds, and over the dry leaves, scattered on the ground, we could immediately fire at them. The kingfisher (_Alcedo alcyon_), is constantly seen here, and many species of birds, particularly the blue-crested roller (_Garrulus cristatus_), came to the water to drink. Unluckily we had no European hounds, which would have been of great service to us, and thus, from want of them, we often lost the ducks we had shot. The turkey buzzards were seen hovering in the air, and, after wet weather, were often observed sitting in the sunshine, with outspread wings, on the highest trees. If we shot a bird, and did not immediately pick it up, it was sure to be devoured by these ravenous creatures. If the buzzards were driven away, the cunning crows supplied their place. The whole air was soon filled with these buzzards, hovering round and round, [pg. 89] while numbers of others sat together on the high trees. If we shot at them when flying, they immediately vomited; this I likewise observed in Brazil. We found here some heads of the paddle-fish, which lives in the stream. If we left the banks of the rivers, and advanced far into the forests, we had often to clamber over fallen trunks of trees, covered with moss, and to penetrate through matted reeds, where we heard the voice of the grey squirrel, and the hammering of the numerous woodpeckers. Among the entangled climbing plants, we often saw, throughout the whole winter, the beautiful cardinal, or red-bird; finches of various kinds; and on the decayed trees, on the ground, some kinds of _Troglodytes_. Towards the end of autumn, and early in warm days in February, nay, even in December and January, we often saw in Fox River, on stones, and old submersed trunks of trees, large tortoises basking in the sun, which we sometimes shot at with our fowling-pieces, but we seldom got them. They are very shy, and plunge into the water as soon as any one approaches.

Towards noon the scattered sportsmen usually re-assembled, with their booty, round a cheerful fire, under ancient plane trees, on the bank of Fox River. Our frugal repast, which we had brought with us, was seasoned by the exercise in the open air, in the fine forests of Indiana and Illinois. Tortoises, shell-fish, birds, &c., were deposited in our boat. Mr. Lesueur frequently accompanied us in these excursions. Once, on the 7th of March, he found, on Fox Island, a couple of marmots above ground, one of which ran into its burrow, while the other sought refuge on a low tree, where, however, it was shot. We then dug for the other, in hopes of finding it, but the burrow went so far and deep into the ground, that we were forced to give it up. This circumstance may serve as a proof that the animals which sleep throughout the winter make their appearance about this time.

In our excursions we often visited some others of the numerous islands in the Wabash, being particularly attracted thither by the loud cries of the wild turkey; their voice is exactly similar to that of the European turkey. We could hear them scratching among the dry leaves on the ground, in search of food. If we surprised them, they were generally too far off for our fowling-pieces, loaded with small shot, for they ran away with extraordinary rapidity. Turkey Island seemed to be a favourite place of resort. At the upper end of the island drifted wood was frequently piled up to such a height, that it was difficult to clamber over it, and among this wood there were generally many otters. Here we often found wild turkeys, and even the Virginian deer; and it is really a fine sight to see a flock of these wild turkeys fly across the river, or a swarm of wild geese, with loud screams, swim down the stream. The grey eagle was often seen sitting on the lofty plane trees, on the bank; and the white-headed eagle hovered in the air, at a great height.

On another hunting excursion, up the Wabash, we proceeded as far as Black River,[101] a stream which falls into the Wabash, three miles from Harmony. On the 5th of January, at eight [pg. 90] o'clock in the morning, the mercury in Reaumur's thermometer was twelve and a half degrees above freezing point, and the fish leaped above the surface of the water as in summer. Near some small log-houses the people were employed in felling the high trees, and our boatmen observed that those new settlers had taken possession of this Congress land without any right to do so. Such irregularities are very frequent here; thus, for instance, they cut down large trees on Mr. Maclure's property for making their flat boats, and yet nobody calls them to account. These are the backwoodsmen of Illinois and Indiana. On the high banks of the river we observed in the forest a mink-trap. It nearly resembles, in miniature, the great bear-trap; is covered on all sides with brushwood, so that the animal can enter only at a certain place. The Black River, which, in some parts, is wide and expanded, was now rather narrow and shallow, the water of a pure green colour. The bottom consists chiefly of sand or clay; it is contracted at the mouth, where a quantity of sand has accumulated, and where poplars and lofty planes grow; colossal vines wound round their trunks, of which we cut off one that was very thick, as a specimen. While our boatmen were engaged in this work, and in looking for shell-fish, we advanced several miles up the stream, where we met with frequent obstacles in the forest. The large dry leaves of the planes made such a rustling, that we could seldom get near the ducks, numbers of which were swimming on the stream. I collected on the bank the beautiful orange-coloured seeds of the _Celastrus scandens_, and several others. We generally returned home with ducks and other birds, but we were unsuccessful in our chase of the wild turkeys, of which we sometimes saw whole flocks fly across the Wabash. Many an hour we passed in these forests, watching for ducks and birds of prey; where, while we stood concealed in a hollow plane, the small birds sometimes flew almost into the face of the sportsman, or settled on his gun.

In order to explore the forests of Harmony, in the southern direction, Mr. Say took me to a neighbouring estate of Mr. Maclure, on Rush Creek, through a romantic, lofty forest, where very fine tulip trees, with thick and high trunks, as straight as a ship's mast, and very rough bark, were growing. This tall, splendid tree bears its fine large flowers only at the very summit. The wood is of a greenish pale yellow colour, and is used by cabinet makers. The red-headed woodpecker was almost the only bird that was seen here. The whole track consists of steep hills, separated by small valleys, on which we particularly observed the ancient tumuli of the aboriginal inhabitants of these forests. Passing through a valley we came to Rush Creek, which we crossed by a very ruinous bridge of branches of trees, to the opposite bank, where _Hydrangea arborescens_ grew. Several species of maple grow here, which have certainly not been properly distinguished and classed. Their trunks, covered with rough bark, are often not to be spanned by three men, and they grow perfectly straight. Near the junction of the Rush Creek and the Wabash, we came to the small log-house of a tenant of Mr. Maclure, where the woman was engaged in domestic employments, while the children were picking bones, probably [pg. 91] of wild turkeys, with which they ate maize bread. In front of the house lay large blocks of catalpa wood, which, when fresh cut, is of a brownish yellow colour, and emits a peculiar smell. We were told of a stream in the neighbourhood, the water of which was said to have killed many persons. We visited this dangerous water, which is very cold, but does not appear to have any peculiar ingredients. One of our party, who had often drunk of it, without injury, affirmed that those men had not been killed by the water, but by whisky; probably, however, death was caused by drinking this excessively cold water when they were overheated.

In a dense forest, some miles to the north-west of Harmony, was a narrow pond, or, rather, long, broad ditch, called Long Pond, which, at certain seasons of the year, is connected with Fox River, to which we sometimes made excursions. Beyond the Wabash, in this direction, the forest has a sandy soil, which, however, is soon succeeded by a rich clay. A man well acquainted with the country was our conductor; we were obliged to force our way through the closely-matted reeds, where there was no path, and our clothes were completely torn by them. On all sides we heard the bells of the oxen and horses, and our guide easily found his own beasts, which knew his voice. He had wished me to take a compass, which was not done, and we, in fact, twice lost our way, in consequence; for it is not easy to discover one's latitude in such thick, bewildering reed forests. Woodpeckers and squirrels were the usual fruits of our excursions in this wilderness. After passing a couple of isolated habitations, we came to a hollow in the forest, about a mile long, and full of water. This was the Long Pond, in which many varieties of water plants were growing.

Our guide had taken a hatchet and a basket, in order to dig up the roots of a yellow-flowering _Nymphaea_,[102] which was growing in luxuriance, and which he intended to employ as a poultice to a swelled face. The surface of the water was covered with an elegant plant, _Azolla Caroliniana_ (Wild), which formed mossy verdant spots, and is here found on all standing water. The cardinal and the blue-crested roller frequented this place; and near a field of maize, in the forest, I saw large flocks of parrots, of which we often shot many with great ease. They were not shy, and soon re-assembled after our shot had dispersed them. Their manner and note much resembled those of the long-tailed paroquet of Brazil.[103] With a shrill cry they flew rapidly from tree to tree, when their beautiful bright green colour was seen to great advantage. Mr. Bodmer has given a very faithful representation of one of these flocks.[104] They eat the fruit of the planes; and if we did not disturb them, they sat in a row, close together, to warm themselves in the faint beams of the January sun. We sometimes found a great number of turkey buzzards collected about the carcass of a dead animal; some sitting crowded on the high trees, others hovering in the air; but it was not easy to get at them. We occasionally met with horses, which, in these [pg. 92] wildernesses, familiarly approach those who happen to pass, in the hope of receiving salt from them. On our return home we were often gratified with the view of a splendid fiery evening sky on the Wabash; the lofty crowns of the forest trees appeared to burn, while the snow-white stems of the tall planes assumed a roseate tint, and reflected their beauty in the smooth surface of the water.

The winter which we passed at Harmony was, on the whole, mild. Woodpeckers, pigeons, thrushes, the great lark, the cardinal, the blue-bird, and many others, were seen in the orchards during the whole winter. The coveys of partridges lay in the fields of maize, or the thorn hedges, sheltered and protected from the cold. There were often very warm days in the middle of winter. On such a day, the 31st of January, I found, at noon, the thermometer being +5 deg. R., at the foot of a thick plane tree, a great number of the red and black spotted lady-bird, which were half frozen. Tortoises were seen, on warm days, during the whole winter. In the middle of February, a great number of the white maple, called also the soft or swamp maple, were in blossom in the forests; and, towards the end of that month, the song of many birds resounded through the woods and orchards. Flights of cranes passed over. The _Arabis bulbosa_ (Muehlenb.) blossomed, as well as the hazel, yet there were still some cold days. The Americans have a proverb--"When winter comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb," and _vice versa_. This winter, however, the cold had not set in early. At the beginning of March we had frost. On the 2nd of March, at eight in the morning, Reaumur's thermometer was at -16 deg.; and at twelve o'clock at noon, -9 deg. Small pieces of water were frozen over; the ducks, especially the pintail ducks, which were now constantly disturbed in the Wabash, by the navigation and by the sportsman, sought for small pieces of open water; and when they were driven from these, repaired to the woods or the maize fields. The blackbird and the robin sought their scanty food on the banks of the brooks. Many species of animals were, however, in motion at the beginning of March. Numbers of tortoises appeared; the note of the owl was heard in the forests, even in the daytime; the wood-snipe fluttered about, and the young leaves of the _sambucus_, and the flowers of the _corylus_, gave an enlivening appearance to the forest. The voice of the turtle-dove was heard as early as the 8th of February; insects buzzed about; flocks of migratory pigeons flew towards the north and east; and on the 9th, the first steam-boat went up the Wabash.

We had satisfactory accounts of the sanitary state of the southern and western parts of the United States. At Cincinnati the violence of the cholera had abated at the commencement of the Indian summer; on the Ohio it had generally ceased; and St. Louis, by the latest reports, was perfectly healthy. Mr. Bodmer, who had made an excursion to New Orleans, in December and January, found the cholera still there, but it had greatly abated; and I therefore resolved to make preparations for proceeding on our journey, as soon as our collections were packed up and sent off.

FOOTNOTES:

[83] Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a prominent English socialist and propagandist. Rising from the ranks of workingmen, by shrewd business capacity he acquired a fortune, which he devoted to the improvement of the conditions of working people, and to the spread of principles of co-operation and education. His factory and schools at New Lanark, Scotland, became famous, and were visited by eminent reformers. He was also instrumental in securing the first Factory Act, protecting the rights of children. In 1825 he purchased New Harmony, Indiana, for the purpose of establishing a co-operative community. Owen's connection with this experiment was dissolved about 1828, although his sons remained on the property many years. The latter years of his life were entirely devoted to theoretical discussion, erratic journalism, and socialistic experimentation. He is considered the founder of the co-operative movement in England.

William Maclure (1763-1840), a wealthy merchant, geologist, and philanthropist, made an unsuccessful attempt (1819) to found an agricultural school at Alicaut, Spain, for the benefit of the poorer classes. In 1824 he went with Robert Owen to New Harmony and took charge of the educational department. The following year, however, together with a hundred and fifty followers, he withdrew to found Macluria. Later, they purchased the New Harmony establishment, and for a short time conducted a school of industry destined to early failure. In 1827, because of failing health, he went to Mexico, where he died (1840).--ED.

[84] Jean Baptiste Audebert (1759-1800), an eminent French painter, engraver, and naturalist, published _A Natural History of Apes, Lemurs, and Galeopitheci_, with numerous plates (1800), and _A History of Humming Birds, Fly Catchers, Jacamars and Promerap_ (1 vol., 1802). Audebert at his death left unfinished several works on birds, subsequently edited by Vieillot and Destray.--ED.

[85] See Plate 8, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.

[86] See Plate 25, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.

[87] _Cervus major_, or _Canadensis_. I have retained the American name of elk for this animal, but it must not be confounded with the elendthier (_Cervus alces_), which is sometimes called elk, in Prussia. The name wapiti, given to it by the English, which is derived from one of the Indian languages, ought never to be used, because it is scarcely known to anybody, even in America.--MAXIMILIAN.

[88] Edward Poeppig (1798-1868) was educated as a naturalist at Leipzig. He travelled in Cuba and the United States (1822-24), and subsequently went to South America, returning to Germany in 1832. In 1845 he was elected professor of zoology at the University of Leipzig and died in 1868. He wrote _Reise in Chila, Peru und auf dem Amazonenstromer_ (Leipzig, 1835-36), and _Landschaftliche Ansichten und erlaeuterude Darstellungen aus dem Gebiete der Erdbunde_ (Leipzig, 1838).

For Mrs. Trollope, see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi, p. 44, note 24; for Doctor Drake, see Flint's _Letters_, in our volume ix, p. 121, note 61.--ED.

[89] For a brief sketch of Lesueur, see our volume xvi, p. 138, note 60.

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) was a distinguished professor in the University of Goettingen. As a recognition of his ability, he was in 1812 elected secretary of the Royal Society of Sciences.--ED.

[90] Mr. Lesueur sketched these from memory, having parted with the originals.--MAXIMILIAN.

_Comment by Ed._ See opposite page for illustration of Indian pipes.

[91] See the "Disseminator" for 1831. Say writes--"Some arrow-heads and knives made of flint were found in the same tumulus, which are perfectly like those often found on the surface. These arrow-heads are generally known, but the instrument which probably served as a knife, deserves more particular consideration. It is from an inch and a half to two inches and a quarter long, from three-tenths to seven-tenths broad, and has two edges; in shape it resembles the obsidian knives of the ancient Aztecks, or, perhaps, of the Tultecks, of which we found a great many near the Mexican city of Chalco, and of which there are engravings in one of the last numbers of 'Silliman's Journal.' We have compared several specimens of flint and obsidian knives, and found them as perfectly alike as if they had been made by the same artist, and as the difference of the material allows. If we cannot decide how far this fact may serve to confirm the hieroglyphic accounts of the emigration of the Aztecks and Tultecks from north to south, it seems, however, to strengthen the conjecture that the remote ancestors of the present Mexicans erected the tumuli and walls which are spread in such numbers over this country, and of the origin of which the present race of red men have no tradition." These obsidian knives are likewise represented in one of the early volumes of the French Academy, but Warden does not mention them in his "Antiquites Mexicaines." He puts the question, whether the people of the Ohio Valley may not have been a colony of the ancient inhabitants of Palenque? The old tumuli of Harmony appear, at least, to belong to a kindred race. On this obscure but highly interesting subject, see Alex. V. Humboldt, "Voy. au Nouv. Cont." t. iii. p. 155, &c.--MAXIMILIAN.

[92] This must have been a wandering band either of Sauk and Foxes (the latter of whom often were entitled "Musquake") or of Mascoutin. The Indian title to this region had been extinguished in 1804; see note 92, _post_. Possibly they were Potawatomi, several of whose chiefs bore names resembling these.

An account of the battle of Tippecanoe is given in Evans's _Tour_, in our volume viii, p. 286, note 131.--ED.

[93] Some of the southern tribes of the North American Indians still use such wooden pipes. I have seen such belonging to the Cherokees, which were in the shape of a bear. The opening for the tobacco was on the back, and the tube fixed near the tail.--MAXIMILIAN.

[94] For the Kickapoo and Mascoutin (Masquiton) Indians, see Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume i, p. 139, note 111; for the Potawatomi (Potanons), _ibid._, p. 115, note 84. The Piankeshaw and Miami are respectively noted in our volume i, p. 142, note 115; p. 27, note 24. The Wyandot (Viandots) were the Huron; see our volume i, p. 29, note 26.

Two treaties--the first with the Delawares, signed August 18, 1804; the second with the Piankeshaw, August 27, 1804--were concluded by William Henry Harrison at Vincennes. By these treaties all the southwestern portion of Indiana below the Vincennes tract already ceded, became the property of the United States. See W. H. Smith, _History of Indiana_ (Indianapolis, 1897), pp. 230-233.--ED.

[95] Bloomington, the seat of Monroe County, Indiana, was laid out by Benjamin Park, July 12, 1818.

By the two acts of March 26, 1804, and April 16, 1816, Congress granted two townships of land, subsequently located in Gibson and Monroe counties "for the use of a seminary of learning." The territorial legislature on November 9, 1806, established in the borough of Vincennes "an university to be known by the name and style of the Vincennes University." The attempt proved a failure, and the land was transferred to the Indiana Seminary created on January 20, 1820. The latter was, on January 24, 1828, raised to the dignity of Indiana College, and on February 15, 1838, to Indiana University.--ED.

[96] The other taxes were at this time the following:--1. Poll-tax, thirty-seven and a half cents per head, per annum. 2. Land-tax, according to the quality of the land; in Illinois, one and a half cents per acre on land of the best quality. 3. Watch-tax, twenty-five cents on a silver watch, and half a dollar on a gold watch. 4. Horse-tax, thirty-five cents on every horse above three years old. Twenty-five cents on every pair of draught oxen. This was the case in Indiana; in Illinois, a tax of half a dollar, on the value of 100 dollars for every head of cattle above three years old. All grocers who sell sugar, coffee, and spirituous liquors, pay a tax in Indiana, as well as publicans. The landlord of the inn at which we lodged, paid a tax of ten dollars per annum. All these taxes are levied by the Government of the State, and are liable to be changed.--MAXIMILIAN.

[97] See p. 175, for illustration of neck-yoke and plow.--ED.

[98] In the splendid work, "Genus Pinus," by my lamented friend, A. B. Lambert, Esq., Vice-President of the Linnean Society, lately deceased, there is a plate and an interesting account of this tree. Mr. Lambert states that "it was introduced into England by Lord Bagot, from seeds received from the celebrated naturalist, Mr. Correa de Serra, then ambassador of Portugal to the United States. Lord Bagot has two fine trees in his conservatory, and was so good as to give me plants of it, which are now growing in my conservatory at Boyton."--H. EVANS LLOYD.

[99] Fox River, a bayou of the Big Wabash River, in the eastern portion of Philip Township, White County, Illinois, cuts off about six miles of territory, known as Fox Island.--ED.

[100] See Bodmer's view of this junction, Plate 38, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.

[101] See Evans's _Pedestrious Tour_, in our volume viii, p. 192, note 45.--ED.

[102] This _Nymphaea_ had, in January, thrown out short pedunculi, near to its tuberculous root, at some depth below the water, from which thick, round, yellow flower-buds had sprouted. The arrow-shaped leaves were green, but, at this time, at a great depth under water.--MAXIMILIAN.

[103] The parroquet (or parrakeet), a diminution of the Spanish _perico_, meaning parrot, is the term applied to many small varieties of parrots, especially to the long-tailed East Indian and Australian species of the genus _Palaeorius_. At the opening of the nineteenth century they were quite numerous in the southern portion of the United States; but they have now disappeared, save in the wilder portions of Indian Territory and Florida. See Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 161, note 108.--ED.

[104] See Plate 38, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.