6 June, at three thirty, reached Mount Vernon, where we left the Metamora to travel inland [in ] Indiana. Everyone was still asleep on the steamboat, except for Mr. Scott, who had risen to accompany us. We had breakfast at an inn while the innkeeper got his dearborn ready to [take] us to New Harmony. The road [to New Harmony, which] I described earlier, was now very pleasant, because of the new May leaves in the unbroken forest, even though in many places the trees—particularly the beech trees—had suffered from frost; the forest was sparser in such spots. It was 16 miles to [New] Harmony. The most beautiful trees and many interesting plants grow in these Indiana forests. The blooming Frasera waltheri (false columbo root) was often 4′ to 5′ high; ginseng (Panax) also grows on the Wabash. M1In Philadelphia the root is clarified, whereby it becomes transparent and makes a nice commodity as easily breakable as rock candy.The storax tree, whose resin is [found] in American stores as balm, grows very tall here, as does[Page 3:195 the slippery elm (Ulmus [— —]); its bark dissolves, in liquids or in the mouth, into a slimy or sticky matter [that] is used on wounds as well as [taken] internally.M2The slimy bark is advantageously applied to wounds.
[It is ingested,] especially in cases of diarrhea and intestinal inflammations, where its mucous qualities are of great advantage. During the cholera [epidemic,] it was applied usefully in many places, and it is therefore now stocked as a powder in all pharmacies. One spoonful taken with the same amount of sugar and boiling water makes a slimy and nourishing substance, like arrowroot or starch. It is used for various stomach ailments. Many species of oakM3The white oak is used here especially as building lumber. The live oak (Quercus sempervirens) of the southern states is shipbuilding timber monopolized by the government. Quercus tinctoria Micheauxii, used for tanning and black dye, is exported, particularly to England, in great quantities. Here it is called black oak. The bark of the white oak is also excellent for tanning, and some prefer it to black oak. Near [New] Harmony, all the old red oak trees in the forests died. It is not known why. There are hardly any of them left, but young ones are common. and all the nice, tall forest trees of Indiana [are present]; about these, consult volume 1 of this Tagebuch. The wood of the catalpa, so characteristic of these forests, furnishes very good posts that last a long time; [the wood] also makes excellent shingles. The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), called poplar here, grows straight as a ship’s mast to a great height and thickness. As stated in volume 1, its wood is used everywhere by cabinetmakers in place of our fir. The sassafras is very common; its leaves furnish an aromatic, very bloodcleansing tea. Evergreens do not grow on the Wabash, as I stated in volume 1 of this Tagebuch, except for the mistletoe (Viscum) and perhaps Bignonia cruciata. We did not see Rhododendron, Kalmia, Magnolia, or Andromeda; nor [did we see] the chestnut species, Castanea americana and chinquapin.

On our journey through the glorious forest to [New] Harmony, we entertained ourselves with beautiful butterflies, catching many of them. Papilio ajax was extremely common, [as was] the beautiful black and blue philenor that Say portrayed in his work about the insects of America. Papilio turnus, large yellow-and-blackcolored, was not as common as the preceding ones. The gray squirrel (Sciurus cinereus) was very numerous here. Our coachman coveted a meal from these little animals with the help of his rifle, but he was not successful. We caught a large, beautiful colubrid [snake] (Coluber [— —]) in the forest that we put inside the coach; we took it along—alive—till we reached [New] Harmony, not exactly at the pleasure of our coachman.

About noon we reached [New] Harmony, where several changes had occurred since [our last visit]. Mr. Say was very happy to see us again, as [were] our [other] friends, all of whom we found [present and] in good health, with the exception of Mr. Richard Owen, who had moved to Cincinnati with his wife. In his place, Mr. Robert Dale Owen now lived here with his family. Previously he wrote [for] a newspaper in New York known by the name of Investigator.M4Besides that, Mr. Owen is the author of several other works and papers. In addition to him, two of his brothers and a sister live here. [They are] learned people, [and] part of their education was [at the] Fellenberg [Institute] in Switzerland. They own a very good library.

In General Twigg’s home, I found Mr. Lesueur, who still intended to travel to France, but [he] will probably not see his fatherland again. We spent several very cheerful days with these friends. Mr. Say worked diligently on his study of American [mollusks], of which issue six had appeared. The description of many new North American insects occupied the rest of his time, usually spent entirely on domestic and scholarly activities. Mr. Lesueur had been in New Orleans since [we saw him last] and had left his friend Barrabino very ill. [Barrabino] died in the meantime. Now Mr. Lesueur was particularly engaged in the observation of a few turtles. In his garden the clausa had just laid some eggs. He had brought very interesting materials from New Orleans, among others, fine specimens of gopher[Page 3:196]. Despite the heat and dryness in the area of [New] Harmony, we were in continual motion, although we missed hearing the lecture, or [presentation], that Miss Owen gave at [one of the] meetings held several times a week in Mr. Owens home. Our friends made [every] effort to make our sojourn enjoyable. We spent both days very pleasantly in [New] Harmony with Messrs. Say, Twigg, Owen, and Maclure.