In his later account of Bodmer's stay at Natchez, Maximilian mentioned that he made a study of Choctaws at an encampment on the Mississippi approximately a mile upstream from the town. The study is dated February 2. Bodmer left Natchez four days later aboard the steamer Cavalier and arrived back at Mount Vernon on the Ohio on or before February I 5. The exact date of Bodmer's return to New Harmony is not clearly noted in Maximilian's journal.

Above Cape Girardeau, Missouri, near Hanging Dog Island on the morning of March 2 1, Maximilian observed, "This region of the river is called Hanging Dog Bend. The river is beautiful and wide. On the left tobacco is grown. Farther away is the mouth of Indian Creek, now called Apple creek." Bodmer made two quick sketches in this vicinity.

In his later account of Bodmer's stay at Natchez, Maximilian mentioned that he made a study of Choctaws at an encampment on the Mississippi approximately a mile upstream from the town. The study is dated February 2. Bodmer left Natchez four days later aboard the steamer Cavalier and arrived back at Mount Vernon on the Ohio on or before February 15. The exact date of Bodmer's return to New Harmony is not clearly noted in Maximilian's journal.

Reaching Natchez again on or before January 28, Bodmer decided to stop here a few days. Maximilian later wrote that Bodmer stayed at Natchez eight days and saw there many Choctaw Indians. He also mentioned that Bodmer made a drawing of "an old Cherokee, who didn't want this business at first, but later complied immediately when sketches had been shown to him." This study of a Cherokee named Tsholocha, possibly the one the Prince mentioned, was made at Natchez on January 29.

In navigating upstream on the lower Mississippi, steamer craft customarily kept close to the banks in order to avoid the intense current. This subjected such vessels to the dangers of encountering driftwood along the banks. Bodmer related that often the paddlewheels were broken as a result of contact with snags and sunken logs. His watercolor sketch of the Mississippi steamer Delphine was made near Baton Rouge the latter part of January, 1833.

At Baton Rouge, Bodmer noted the arrivals and departures of numerous steamboats. He sketched at least two of these, the Lioness and the Delphine. In his subsequent report to Maximilian, he mentioned that a great many flatboats were to be seen on the river, but that keelboats, common before the advent of steam-powered craft, were becoming increasingly scarce on the lower Mississippi.

Judging from dated inscriptions on various extant studies, Bodmer seems to have stayed in the New Orleans area approximately ten days. Maximilian's subsequent account indicates "about eight days" and states that the artist embarked on the steamer Arkansas for Baton Rouge on January 22. This view of the lower Mississippi, dated January 21, is presumed to have been made at or near New Orleans. It depicts types of craft then in use on the river. What appears to be the head of an Indian is faintly outlined at left center

Maximilian's report of Bodmer's trip to New Orleans includes few exact references to dates. Fort Adams, located about midway between Natchez and Baton Rouge, was sighted on the afternoon of the same day that the Homer stopped at Natchez for fuel. The steamer passed the mouth of the Red River during the night, and early the following morning arrived at Baton Rouge, Louisiana's capital city. That afternoon, either January 10 or 11, it anchored for the night a few miles above New Orleans.

As the Homer descended the river below Natchez, Fort Adams appeared ahead on the left bank. Maximilian related in his subsequent account of Bodmer's voyage that Fort Adams was a place of about twenty houses, adding that "the real fort doesn't exist any more." Bodmer made two studies in this vicinity that include few details of the abandoned military installation but describe its setting in general terms. His rendering of a "distant view" of Fort Adams was made on January 9 or 10.

The city of Natchez, where the Homer stopped for an hour to take on wood, was later described by Bodmer as "a bad and dirty place, notorious on account of its gamblers and disorderly women." The climatic change experienced downriver from Memphis made a distinct impression on the young Swiss artist, who afterward reported to Maximilian that "we came in two days from total winter into the most beautiful spring!" On the return voyage during the latter part of January, Bodmer spent approximately eight days at Natchez.