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spoken of afterwards. They were separated into three classes, 
first, of such as undertook to be security for the sums due Mr. 
Owen and Mr. McClure, (that is, for the amount paid to Rapp, 
and so expended as a pledge to be redeemed by the society,) and 
who, if desirous to leave the society, must give six months pre¬ 
vious notice; secondly, of such as after a notice of fourteen days 
can depart; and, lastly, of those who are received only on trial. 
After this meeting, I paid Mr. McClure a visit, and received 
from him the French papers. Mr. McClure is old, childless, was 
never married, and intends, as is reported, to leave his property 
to the society. Afterwards I went with Mr. Owen, and some 
ladies of the society, to walk to the cut-off, as it is called, of the 
Wabash, where this river has formed a new channel, and an island, 
which contains more than a hundred acres of the best land; at pre¬ 
sent, however, inundated by water. There is here a substantial 
grist-mill, erected by Rapp, which was said to contain a very good 
set of machinery, but where we could not reach it on account of 
the water. We went some distance, along the river, and then re¬ 
turned through the woods over the hills, which, as it was rather 
warm, and we could discover no pathway, was very laborious to 
the ladies, who were uncommonly alarmed at the different snakes 
we chanced to meet. Most of the serpent species here are harm¬ 
less, and the children catch them for playthings. The poison¬ 
ous snakes harbouring about here, are rattlesnakes and copper¬ 
heads; these, however, diminish rapidly in numbers, for it is a 
common observation, that the poisonous serpents, like the Indians 
and bears, fly before civilization. The rattlesnakes have a pow¬ 
erful enemy in the numerous hogs, belonging to the settlers, run¬ 
ning about the woods, which are very well skilled in catching 
them by the neck and devouring them. 
In the evening I paid visits to some ladies, and witnessed phi¬ 
losophy and the love of equality put to the severest trial with 
one of them. She is named Virginia, from Philadelphia; is very 
young and pretty, was delicately brought up, and appears to have 
taken refuge here on account of an unhappy attachment. While 
she was singing and playing very well on the piano forte, she 
was told that the milking of the cows was her duty, and that 
they were waiting unmilked. Almost in tears, she betook her¬ 
self to this servile employment, deprecating the new social sys¬ 
tem, and its so much prized equality. 
After the cows w r ere milked, in doing which the poor girl 
was trod on by one, and daubed by another, I joined an aquatic 
party with the young ladies and some young philosophers, in a 
very good boat upon the inundated meadows of the Wabash. The 
evening was beautiful moonlight, and the air very mild; the 
beautiful Miss Virginia forgot her stable sufferings, and regaled 
