113 
for she added, that in the summer, she would enter a Shaker es¬ 
tablishment near Vincennes.* 
I renewed acquaintance here with Mr. Say, a distinguished 
naturalist from Philadelphia, whom I had been introduced to, at 
the Wistar Party there; unfortunately he had found himself em¬ 
barrassed in his fortune, and was obliged to come here as a friend 
of Mr. McClure. This gentleman appeared quite comical in the 
costume of the society, before described, with his hands full of 
hard lumps and blisters, occasioned by the unusual labour he was 
obliged to undertake in the garden. 
In the evening I went to walk in the streets, and met with 
several of the ladies of the society, who rested from the labours 
of the day. Madam F-was among them, whose complaints 
of disappointed expectations I had listened to. I feared still more 
from all that I saw and heard, that the society would have but a 
brief existence. I accompanied the ladies to a dancing assembly, 
which was held in the kitchen of one of the boarding-houses. I 
observed that this was only an hour of instruction to the unprac¬ 
tised in dancing, and that there was some restraint on account of 
my presence, from politeness I went away, and remained at home 
the remainder of the evening. About ten o’clock, an alarm of 
fire was suddenly raised. An old log building used as a wash¬ 
house was in flames, immediately the fire-engine kept in a dis¬ 
tinct house, was brought and served by persons appointed to that 
duty. They threw the stream of water through the many aper¬ 
tures of the log-house, and quickly put a stop to the fire. In a 
quarter of an hour, all was over. Since the houses in the place 
all stand separately, there is nothing to fear from the extension of 
fire, unless in a strong wind. The houses, however, are all 
covered with shingles. 
On the 15th of April, I went into the garden back of Rapp’s 
house to see a plate or block of stone, which is remarkable as it 
bears the impression of two human feet. This piece of stone was 
hewed out of a rock near St. Louis, and sold to Mr. Rapp. School¬ 
craft speaks of it in his travels, and I insert his remarks, as I have 
found them correct. 66 The impressions are to all appearance 
those of a man standing upright, the left foot a little forwards, 
the heels turned inwards. The distance between the heels by an 
exact measurement was six and a quarter inches, and thirteen 
and a half between the extremities of the great toes. By an accu¬ 
rate examination, it however will be ascertained, that they are 
not the impression of feet, accustomed to the use of European 
shoes, for the toes are pressed out, and the foot is flat, as is ob- 
* [According to the report of some females, who were induced to visit New 
Harmony, and remained there for some time, any situation much above abject 
wretchedness, was preferable to this vaunted terrestrial paradise.]— Trans. 
Vol. II. 15 
