30 October: At seven thirty in the morning, 2 2/3°R [38°F, 3.3°C]. The weather was becoming bright and beautiful; at noon very warm. In the morning Mr. Bodmer sketched New Harmony. The Messrs. Owen paid me a visit. In the afternoon Mr. Bodmer and I went on a short outing. In Mr. Maclure’s orchards we found the big lark (Alauda magna Linn.), which must belong to a special genus. It flew up and alighted on the apple trees. Along the Wabash urubus flew about in the air; here this bird is called turkey buzzard. Nowhere did we see here the striped chipmunk (Sciurus striatus), which is so endlessly abundant in Pennsylvania.M12Squirrels here on the Wabash include the Sciurus cinereus and the rufiventris, besides the striped chipmunk. [Sciurus] hudsonius does not occur here; however, the flying squirrel does.

On the other hand, I did obtain from Mr. Say several jumping mice, which are found here (though rarely) (probably Gerbillus canadensis). Unfortunately, they were [preserved] in spirits. We learned from Mr. Hall, who was in Mount Vernon today, that the cholera is not yet there; on the other hand, it is said to be in St. Louis.