6 October: This morning, beautiful, bright sunshine. Mr. Bodmer is sketching the Menobranchus from nature. Mr. Volz brought us several Germans who wanted to look for employment in this country. Today we packed 900 river mussels (Unio) from the Ohio, eight softshell turtles (Aspidonectes Wagl.), thirty-four salamanders (Menopoma), four proteus (Menobranchus), one sturgeon (Acipenser), and several birds, which Dr. Saynisch will take back to Bethlehem.

In the afternoon Mr. Bodmer went to Economy with Dr. Saynisch. I accompanied them to the opposite side of the Allegheny and then went into a nearby forest, where I collected seeds. Here the ground was covered with the fruits of Quercus alba, coccinea, and prinos; people were busy collecting them. Just as in Germany, women were gathering large loads of dry foliage, which they carried flat on top of their heads. They set them down on a fence and climbed over it. Then I went on and found, for the first time, the willow oak (Quercus phellos), which, however, had no fruit. From there I followed the canal to the point where it is conducted across the Allegheny below by the large covered aqueduct. Here a boat full of people was just coming across. Some water leaks from this conduit; that is to say, it drips heavily everywhere through the cracks. On the large Allegheny bridge, which I crossed on my way home, a pedestrian pays two cents; a cabriolet with one horse,[——]cents. Shortly before dusk the darkly colored city, enveloped in its smoke, had a gloomy appearance.