[94] Du Pratz, Hist. Louisiana, p. 318.--NUTTALL.

[95] See _post_, note 110.--ED.

[96] A ceremony similar to this, was also, according to Adair,

practised among the Creeks.--NUTTALL.

[97] For an exhaustive account of the customs of the kindred Omaha,

see Dorsey, “Omaha Sociology,” in _Report_ of Bureau of Ethnology,

1881–82, iii, pp. 205–370.--ED.

{90} CHAPTER VII

Departure from Arkansas--Indian villages--Mooney’s

settlement--Curran’s settlement--Interview with the Quapaw

chief--The Pine Bluffs--Soil, climate, and productions--The

Little Rock--Roads--Mountains--Vegetation--The Mamelle--Cadron

settlement--Tumuli--Soil and climate--Pecannerie

settlement--Mountains--Cherokees--The Magazine

mountain--Dardanelle settlement--Manners and customs of the

Cherokees--Their war with the Osages.

From Arkansas to the Cadron, a distance of about 300 miles by

water, I now understood there existed a considerable line of

settlements along the north border of the river, and that the

greatest uninhabited interval did not exceed 30 miles. Though the

spring was premature, and the weather still subject to uncomfortable

vicissitudes, the want of society and of employment induced me

to embrace the earliest opportunity of continuing my journey into

the interior of the territory, where I hoped to find additional

employment and gratification in my researches connected with natural

history. For this purpose I again embarked on the river in a large

skiff, which was proceeding to the Baird’s-town settlement;[98] but

as most of our company were fond of whiskey, the only beverage in the

country, except water or milk, it was difficult to get them parted

from their companions and conversation; however, after many efforts

to make a start, we at last got off, though merely to make one or

two miles, so as to be disengaged, at any rate, for the morning. Our

encampment was a sand-bar or beach, skirted by willows, and though in

itself a situation by no means interesting, yet far from disagreeable

{91} to him who can enjoy the simple fare of the hunter, and the calm

and unsullied pleasures of nature.

On the following day (_February_ the 27th) we proceeded about 21

miles, or seven points up the river, and in some places against a

current of considerable velocity, which had been augmented by a

southern freshet, communicating a muddiness and chocolate-brown

colour to the stream. In the evening, to avoid the attacks of

musquitoes, we again chose a sand-beach for our place of encampment.

In the course of the day we passed the outlet of the bayou, or rather

river, Meta,[99] which diagonally traverses the Great Prairie, also

two Indian villages on the south bank, which continues to be the

Quapaw line as far as the Little Rock. The first was the periodical

residence of a handful of Choctaws, the other was occupied by the

Quapaws. On this side of the river there appeared to be considerable

bodies of very fertile land elevated above inundation.

The peach-trees, now in bloom, were considerably disseminated beyond

the immediate precincts of the Indian villages, and seemed to be

almost naturalized, but, in common even with the wild fruits of the

country, they are occasionally robbed of fruit by the occurrence of

unseasonable frosts.

On the 28th, after ascending about 13 miles, we arrived at the

settlement begun by colonel Mooney,[100] consisting of three or four

families. I was here very hospitably entertained by Mr. Davison. Near

this house, and about 200 yards from the river, there was a fine

lake of clear water, of considerable extent, communicating with the

river by a bayou, which enters a few miles below. Its bed appeared

to be firm and sandy. The neighbouring land was of a superior

quality, either for corn or cotton, but all conditionally held on

the uncertain claim of Messrs. Winters. Notwithstanding the extent

of inundated lands, the climate was considered unusually healthy,

and the {92} soil, with but little labour, capable of insuring a

comfortable independence to the cultivator.

_March_ 1st.] This morning a slight white frost was visible, though,

yesterday and the day before, the thermometer rose, at noon, to

70°, and the Red-bud (_Cercis canadensis_) was commonly in flower.

We proceeded about 10 miles, and encamped opposite to an island;

the water now falling as rapidly as it had risen. Leaving the

boat, and walking through the woods, I was surprised to find myself

inadvertently at the Quapaw village we had passed yesterday, situated

upon a small prairie, constituting the isthmus of a tongue of land,

which, six or seven miles round, was here scarcely half a mile

across. Endeavouring now to obtain a nearer route to the river, than

that of returning by the path, I found myself in a horrid cane-brake,

interlaced with brambles, through which I had to make my way as it

were by inches. The delay I thus experienced created alarm among my

companions, who fired three guns to direct me to the spot where they

waited, and where I soon arrived, pretty well tired of my excursion.

2d.] A slight frost appeared again this morning. We proceeded slowly,

passing in the course of the day three points of land, one of which

was about six miles, the others three each, and in the evening

encamped a mile below Morrison’s bayou. Nearly opposite to this

stream there was another village of the Quapaws, containing about 15

cabins, and called, by the French, ville de Grand Barbe, from their

late chief, who, contrary to the Indian custom, wore a long beard.

It stands on the edge of the forest, surrounded by good land, and

elevated above the overflows.

3d.] To-day we arrived at Curran’s settlement, consisting of six

families, who had chosen for their residence a body of very superior

land. From 1000 to 1500 pounds of cotton have been produced upon the

acre, and of a staple no way inferior to that of Red {93} river. As

to maize, it is as luxuriant as possible. But what most recommended

this settlement, in my estimation, was the unequivocal appearance of

health and plenty. We landed for the night nearly opposite what is

called the Old River, four miles above Curran’s, an elliptic curve of

the river, 11 miles in circuit, cut off at the isthmus in the course

of a single night, as was witnessed by a French trader encamped on

the spot, who fled in terror from the scene of devastation. On the

borders of this bend, now become a lake, and which explains the

origin of similar bodies of water along this river, there were three

families now settled.

4th.] The middle of the day, and early part of the afternoon, felt

warm and sultry as summer. About noon I arrived at the cabin of Mr.

Joseph Kirkendale, four miles above the cut-off in the river, where

I tasted nearly the first milk and butter which I had seen since my

arrival on the banks of the Arkansa. This farm, like those below on

Old River, was situated upon a small and insulated prairie or open

and elevated meadow, about 15 miles from the Great Prairie. The

drought which was experienced last summer throughout this territory,

proved, in many places, nearly fatal to the crops of corn and cotton,

so that the inhabitants were now under the necessity of importing

maize for provision, at the rate of one dollar and a quarter per

bushel.

At Mr. Kirkendale’s I had an interview with the principal chief of

the Quapaws, who landed here on his way down the river. His name,

to me unintelligible, was Ha-kat-ton (or the _dry man_).[101] He

was not the hereditary chief, but received his appointment as such,

in consequence of the infancy of the children of the Grand Barbe.

His appearance and deportment were agreeable and prepossessing, his

features aquiline and symmetrical. Being told that I had journeyed

a great distance, almost from the borders of the great lake of salt

water, to see the country of the Arkansa, {94} and observing the

attention paid to me by my hospitable friend, he, in his turn, showed

me every possible civility, returned to his canoe, put on his uniform

coat, and brought with him a roll of writing, which he unfolded with

great care, and gave it me to read. This instrument was a treaty of

the late cession and purchase of lands from the Quapaws, made the

last autumn, and accompanied by a survey of the specified country.

The lines of this claim, now conceded for the trifling sum of 4000

dollars in hand, and an annuity of a thousand dollars worth of goods,

pass up White river, until a south line intersects the Canadian river

of Arkansa, then continuing along the course of this river to its

sources, afterwards down Red river to the great Raft, and thence in

a north-east direction to point Chicot, on the Mississippi, and so

in a north-west line to the place of commencement, near White river.

Their reservation (situated exclusively on the south bank of the

Arkansa) commences at the post or town of Arkansas, and continues

up that river to the Little Rock, thence in a southern direction

to the Washita, which continues to be the boundary, to a line

intersecting the place of commencement. To this deed were added the

names of no less than 13 chiefs. This tract contains probably more

than 60,000 square miles. Such are the negociating conquests of the

American republic, made almost without the expense of either blood or

treasure![102]

Hakatton informed us, that he had lately returned from the garrison,

where, in concert with a fellow chief and the commander, they had

succeeded in rescuing from bondage some unfortunate prisoners and

females of the Caddoes,[103] of whom about 15 or 20 had been killed

by the Osages. The former reside on the banks of Red river, into

whose territory the Osages occasionally carry their depredations.

This chief warned me from trusting myself alone amongst the {95}

Osages, who, if they spared my life, would, in all probability, as

they had often done to the hunters, strip me naked, and leave me to

perish for want. But in his nation, he took a pride in assuring me,

if I was found destitute, I should be relieved to the best of their

ability, and conducted, if lost, to the shelter of their habitations,

where the stranger was always welcome. His late journey to the seat

of government, appeared to have inspired him with exalted ideas of

the wealth and power of civilized society.

To my inquiries, respecting the reputed origin of the

O-guah-pas,[104] he answered candidly, that he was ignorant of the

subject; and that the same question had been put to him at St. Louis,

by governor Clarke.[105]

This morning I observed the wife of the chief, preparing for her

family a breakfast from the nuts of the Cyamus (or Nelumbium).

They are first steeped in water, and parched in sand, to extricate

the kernels, which are afterwards mixed with fat, and made into a

palatable soup. The tubers of the root, somewhat resembling batatas

or sweet potatoes, when well boiled, are but little inferior

to a farinaceous potatoe, and are penetrated internally and

longitudinally, with from five to eight cavities or cells.

5th.] We were again visited by the Quapaw chief, who appeared to be

very sensible and intelligent, though much too fond of whiskey. I

took an opportunity to inquire of him, whether the Quapaws considered

smoking as in any way connected with their religion, to which he

answered, that they merely regarded it as a private gratification

or luxury; but that the Osages smoked to God, or to the sun, and

accompanied it by a short apostrophe: as, “Great Spirit, deign to

smoke with me, as a friend! fire and earth, smoke with me, and assist

me to destroy mine enemies, the Caddoes, Pawnees, Mahas, &c.! my dogs

and horses, smoke also with me!”

Among the most remarkable superstitious ceremonies {96} practised

by the Quapaws, is that which I now found corroborated by Hakatton.

Before commencing the corn-planting, a lean dog is selected by the

squaws, as a sacrifice to the Indian Ceres, and is, with terrific

yells and distorted features, devoured alive. This barbarous

ceremony, which we derided, he assured us gravely, was conducive to

the success of the ensuing crop. After the harvest of the maize, and

subsequent to the Green-corn Dance, they have also a succession of

dances and feasts, which they support like our Christmas mummers, by

going round and soliciting contributions.

The Quapaws are indeed slaves to superstition, and many of them live

in continual fear of the operations of supernatural agencies.

* * * * *

On the 7th, we proceeded to Mr. Morrison’s,[106] a few miles

distant, but did not accomplish it until the succeeding morning, in

consequence of the prevalence of a violent storm from the south-west.

On the 8th, I remained at Mr. Morrison’s farm, agreeably situated

on a small prairie, contiguous to the river, surrounded with an

extensive body of good land, continuing a considerable distance from

the bank. These small prairies often appear to have been the sites of

ancient Indian stations.

A number of Quapaw canoes passed down the river, and several drunken

Indians, accompanied by Paspatoo, their chief, now 75 years of age,

were straggling about in quest of whiskey, which if not _prohibited_,

would, in all probability, be less plentifully supplied.

The adjoining forest was already adorned with flowers, like the

month of May in the middle states. The woods, which had been overrun

by fire in autumn, were strewed in almost exclusive profusion with

the _Ranunculus marilandicus_, in full bloom, affording, with other

herbage, already an abundant pasture {97} for the cattle. Towards

evening, Mr. Drope, with his large and commodious trading boat of 25

tons burthen, passed this place on his way to the garrison, with whom

I was to embark on the following morning.

9th.] I walked about four miles to Mr. Dardennes’, where there were

two families residing on the bank of the river, which is agreeably

elevated, and here I had the satisfaction of joining Mr. Drope. Lands

of the same fertile quality as that on the border of the river,

extend here from it for eight miles without interruption, and free

from inundation. The claim of Winters’ still continues up to an

island nearly opposite Mr. Lewismore’s, but the survey of all this

land, now ordered by Congress, seems to imply the annihilation of

this claim, which for the benefit of the settlement ought promptly to

be decided.

Four miles above Dardennes’, commences the first gravel-bar,

accompanied by very rapid water.

10th.] We now passed Mr. Mason’s, 18 miles above Dardennes’, where

likewise exists an extensive body of rich and dry land, along the

borders of Plum bayou.[107] We encamped at the upper point of the

sand-beach, about three miles above Mason’s, on the margin of a

small and elevated prairie, which, from the abundance of Chicasaw

plum bushes forming a grove, I fancied might have been an ancient

aboriginal station. The day was exceedingly wet, accompanied with

thunder, which had continued with but little intermission since the

preceding night.

11th.] Passed Mr. Embree’s, and arrived at Mr. Lewismore’s.[108]

Six miles above, we also saw two Indian villages, opposite each

of those settlements. The land is here generally elevated above

the inundation, and of a superior quality; the upper stratum a

dark-coloured loam, rich in vegetable matter.

The Indians, unfortunately, are here, as usual, both poor and

indolent, and alive to wants which they have {98} not the power of

gratifying. The younger ones are extremely foppish in their dress;

covered with feathers, blazing calicoes, scarlet blankets, and silver

pendents. Their houses, sufficiently convenient with their habits,

are oblong square, and without any other furniture than baskets and

benches, spread with skins for the purpose of rest and repose. The

fire, as usual, is in the middle of the hut, which is constructed

of strips of bark and cane, with doors also of the latter split and

plaited together.

The forest was already decorated with the red-bud, and a variety of

humble flowers. A species of _Vitis_,[109] called the June grape,

from its ripening at that early period, was also nearly in blossom.

It does not appear to exist in any of the eastern states; in leaf

it somewhat resembles the _vigne des batures_ (or _Vitis riparia_ of

Michaux), while the fruit, in the composition of its bunches, and

inferior size, resembles the winter grape.

We spent the evening with major Lewismore Vaugin,[110] the son of a

gentleman of noble descent, whose father formerly held a considerable

post under the Spanish government.

Fifteen miles above this place, Monsieur Vaugin informed me of the

remains of an aboriginal station of considerable extent, resembling

a triangular fort, which the Quapaws on their first arrival in

this country say, was inhabited by a people who were white, and

partly civilized, but whom, at length, they conquered by stratagem.

The hunters possess an opinion, by no means singular, that this

embankment is of antediluvian origin.

12th.] This morning we met captain Prior[111] and Mr. Richards,

descending with cargoes of furs and peltries, collected among the

Osages. The former {99} was one of those who had accompanied Lewis

and Clarke across the continent. Six miles above Mr. Vaugin’s, at

Monsieur Michael Le Boun’s,[112] commences the first appearance

of a hill, in ascending the Arkansa. It is called the Bluff,[113]

and appears to be a low ridge covered with pine, similar to the

Chicasaw cliffs, and affording in the broken bank of the river the

same parti-coloured clays. Mr. Drope remained at the Bluff, trading

the remainder of the day with the two or three metif[114] families

settled here, who are very little removed in their habits from the

savages, with whose language and manners they are quite familiar.

In the evening, a ball or dance was struck up betwixt them and the

_engagées_. The pine land is here, as every where else, poor and

unfit for cultivation. Over this elevated ground were scattered a

considerable number of low mounds.

13th.] To-day I walked along the beach with Mr. D., and found

the lands generally dry and elevated, covered with cotton-wood

(_Populus angulisans_), sycamore (_Platanus occidentale_), maple

(_Acer dasycarpa_), elm (_Ulmus americana_), and ash (_Fraxinus

sambucifolia_ and _F. platicarpa_). We observed several situations

which appeared to have been formerly occupied by the Indians. A

canoe of the Quapaws coming in sight, we prevailed on them to land,

and, during the interval of our boat’s arriving, I amused myself

with learning some of their names for the forest trees. While thus

engaged, I observed, that many of their sounds were dental and

guttural, and that they could not pronounce the _th_. In the evening

we came to a little above the second Pine Bluff.

14th.] We proceeded to Mons. Bartholome’s,[115] where Mr. D. stayed

about two hours. Mons. B. and the two or three families who are his

neighbours are entirely hunters, or in fact Indians in habits, and

pay no attention to the cultivation of the soil. These, with two or

three families at the first Pine Bluffs, are the {100} remains of the

French hunters, whose stations have found a place in the maps of the

Arkansa, and they are in all probability the descendants of those

ten Frenchmen whom de Tonti left with the Arkansas, on his way up

the Mississippi in the year 1685.[116] From this place we meet with

no more settlements until our arrival at the Little Rock, 12 miles

below which, and about 70 from hence, by the meandering course of

the river, we again meet with a house. We proceeded about eight miles

from Bartholome’s, and about sun-set came in sight of another pine

bluff of about 100 feet elevation, and a mile in length. On the right

hand bank the land appeared fertile and elevated. Near our encampment

there was a small lake communicating with the river by a bayou. The

horizontal beds of clay in this cliff or precipice are precisely

similar to those of the Chicasaw Bluffs.

15th.] The land appeared still, for the most part, on either bank,

elevated above inundation. Some cypress[117] clumps, however, were

observable on the Quapaw side. On the opposite we saw a cluster of

Hollies (_Ilex opaca_), which were the first we had seen any way

conspicuous along the bank of the river. The forests every where

abound with wild turkeys, which at this season are beginning to

be too poor for food. We came about 16 miles above the last pine

bluff, and were there detained the remainder of the evening by the

commencement of a strong south-west wind, which in the night veered

round to the north-west. The land on the Indian side, contiguous

to the river, abounded with thickets of Chicasaw plum-trees, which

appear to have overgrown the sites of Indian huts and fields, but,

except in a few elevated places, the first alluvial platform or

terrace is subject to inundation. The second bank, where the large

cane commences, is, however, free from water. The {101} right side

of the river appeared universally high, and rich cane land with

occasional thickets and openings.

Throughout this country there certainly exists extensive bodies of

fertile land, and favoured by a comparatively healthy climate. The

cultivation of cotton, rice, maize, wheat, tobacco, indigo, hemp,

and wine, together with the finest fruits of moderate climates,

without the aid of artificial soils or manures, all sufficiently

contiguous to a market, are important inducements to industry and

enterprize. The peach of Persia is already naturalized through the

forests of Arkansa, and the spontaneous mulberry points out the

convenience of raising silk. Pasturage at all seasons of the year

is so abundant, that some of our domestic animals might become

naturalized, as in Paraguay and Mexico; indeed several wild horses

were seen and taken in these forests during the preceding year.

The territory watered by the Arkansa is scarcely less fertile than

Kentucky, and it owes its luxuriance to the same source of alluvial

deposition. Many places will admit of a condensed population. The

climate is no less healthy, and at the same time favourable to

productions more valuable and saleable. The privations of an infant

settlement are already beginning to disappear, grist and saw-mills,

now commenced, only wait for support; and the want of good roads is

scarcely felt in a level country meandered by rivers. Those who have

large and growing families can always find lucrative employment in a

country which produces cotton. The wages of labourers were from 12 to

15 dollars per month and boarding, which could not then be considered

as extravagant, while cotton produced from five to six dollars per

hundred weight in the seed, and each acre from 1000 to 1500 pounds.

16th.] At sunrise the thermometer was down to 28°, and the wind at

north-west. This sudden transition, after such a long continuance of

mild weather, {102} felt extremely disagreeable, and foreboded the

destruction of all the fruit in the territory. This morning we passed

the fifth Pine Bluff, and the last previous to our arrival at the

Little Rock; the fasçade was about the same height and of the same

materials as the preceding. Among the pebbles of a gravel beach which

I examined were scattered a few fragments of cornelian, similar to

those of the Missouri, and abundance of chert or hornstone containing

organic impressions of entrocites, caryophillites, &c. here and there

were also intermingled a few granitic fragments, which, if not more

remotely adventitious, had probably descended from the mountains.--We

proceeded to-day about 17 miles.

17th.] This morning we had the disagreeable prospect of ice, and the

wind was still from the north-west, but abating. To-day we progressed

about 20 miles. The sixth point we passed, since our encampment of

the preceding night, was called the Eagle’s Nest, which is here seen

situated on the opposite side of the bend before us, of six miles in

circuit, and only about 100 yards across at the isthmus.

The almost uninterrupted alternation of sand-bars in the wide

alluvial plain of the Arkansa afford, as on the Mississippi, great

facilities to navigation, either in propelling the boat by poles, or

towing with the cordelles. As the bars or beaches advance, so they

continually change the common level of the river, and driving the

current into the bend with augmenting velocity, the curve becomes

at length intersected, and the sand barring up the entrances of

the former bed of the river, thus produces the lakes which we find

interspersed over the alluvial lands.

In the present state of the water, which is remarkably low,

considering the rains which have fallen, it is difficult to proceed

with a large merchant boat more than 18 or 20 miles a-day.

{103} 18th.] We now passed an island or cut-off two miles long, and

forming a point four or five miles round. Near its commencement we

were again gratified with the sight of a human habitation.

Although the lands along the bank of the river here, appear elevated

above the inundation, yet, betwixt the lower settlement and Mr.

Twiner’s, where we now arrived, the surveyor found considerable

tracts subject to the overflow, and in one place a whole township

so situated. On the opposite side, or Indian reservation, the hills

approach within six or eight miles of the river, and, like most of

the southern pine lands, promise but little to the agriculturist,

but the intermediate alluvion is as fertile as usual. The Great

Prairie,[118] as I am told, on our right, lies at the distance of

about 18 or 20 miles; the intermediate space, unbroken by hills, must

necessarily afford an uninterrupted body of land little removed from

the fertile character of alluvial.

Towards evening we arrived at Monsieur La Feve’s,[119] where two

families reside, at the distance of about eight miles above Mr.

Twiner’s; these are also descendants from the ancient French settlers.

19th.] This morning we met with a boat from the garrison, commanded

by lieutenant Blair, on his way to Arkansas. We also passed Trudot’s

island, and Mr. D. stopped awhile at the elder La Feve’s, for the

purposes of trade. Monsieur F. by his dress and manners did not

appear to have had much acquaintance with the civilized world. In the

evening, we arrived at the house of Mr. Jones, where we were very

decently entertained.

20th.] Two miles further lived Mr. Daniels,[120] in whose

neighbourhood a second family also resided. The land in this vicinity

appeared to be of a very superior quality, and well suited for

cotton. Some of it, obtained by the grant of the Spaniards, and

since confirmed by the United States, is held as high {104} as ten

dollars the acre. From this place proceeds the road to St. Louis,

on the right, and Mount Prairie settlement, and Natchitoches on Red

river, on the left. From all I can learn, it appears pretty evident

that these extensive and convenient routes have been opened from time

immemorial by the Indians; they were their war and hunting-paths,

and such as in many instances had been tracked out instinctively by

the bison in their periodical migrations. It is in these routes,

conducted by the Indians, that we are to trace the adventurers De

Soto and La Salle, and by which we may possibly identify the truth

of their relations.[121] From the appearances of aboriginal remains

around Mount Prairie we may safely infer the former existence

of the natives on that site, and it appears also probable, that

this must have been the fertile country of the Cayas or Tanicas

described by La Vega, a people who are at this time on the verge of

extermination.[122]

The distance from Mr. Daniels’, on the banks of the Arkansa, to Red

river, is believed to be about 250 miles. The Great Prairie, bearing

from hence to the north-east, is said to be 40 miles distant, and

there is likewise a continuation of open plains or small prairies,

from hence to the Cadron settlement. White river lies about 100 miles

distant to the north.

In the course of the day we passed the sixth Pine Bluff, behind

which appeared the first prominent hill that occurs to view on the

banks of the Arkansa. The fasçade or cliffs, in which it terminates

on the bank of the river, is called the Little Rock,[123] as it

is the first stone which occurs in place. The river, no longer so

tediously meandering, here presents a stretch of six miles in extent,

proceeding to the west of north-west. In the evening we arrived at

Mr. Hogan’s,[124] or the settlement of the Little Rock, opposite

to which appear the cliffs, formed of a dark greenish coloured,

fine-grained, slaty, sandstone, mixed with {105} minute scales of

mica, forming what geologists commonly term the _grauwacke slate_,

and declining beneath the surface at a dip or angle of not less than

45° from the horizon. The hills appear to be elevated from 150 to 200

feet above the level of the river, and are thinly covered with trees.

There are a few families living on both sides, upon high, healthy,

and fertile land; and about 22 miles from Hogan’s, there is another

settlement of nine or ten families situated towards the sources of

Saline creek of the Washita,[125] which enters that river in 33°

27′; this land, though fertile and healthy, cannot be compared with

the alluvions of the Arkansa; notwithstanding which, I am informed,

they were receiving accessions to their population from the states of

Kentucky and Tennessee. The great road to the south-west, connected

with that of St. Louis, already noticed, passing through this

settlement, communicates downwards also with the post of Washita,

with the remarkable thermal springs near its sources, about 50

miles distant, and then proceeding 250 miles to the settlement of

Mount Prairie on Saline creek of Red river, and not far from the

banks of the latter, continues to Natchitoches.[126] The whole of

this country, except that of the hot-springs, which is mountainous,

consists either of prairies or undulated lands thinly timbered, and

possessed of considerable fertility.

21st.] For three or four nights past, we experienced frost sufficient

to destroy most of the early grape, plum, popaw, and red-bud bloom.

At 6 o’clock this morning, the thermometer was down to 22°. In the

distance of two miles we arrived at the younger Mr. Curran’s, nearly

opposite to whose house appeared gentle hills, presenting along the

bank of the river beds of slate dipping about 45° to the north-west.

About two miles above, commence on the right bank of the river, the

first hills, or rather mountains, {106} being not less than 4 or

500 feet high, and possessing a dip too considerable to be classed

with the secondary formation. Their character and composition refer

them to the transition rocks, and, as far as I have had opportunity

to examine, they appear, at all events, generally destitute of

organic reliquiæ. Similar to what we had already examined, they are

a stratum of slate made up of the detritus of more ancient rocks,

and frequently traversed with crystalline quartzy veins. I cannot,

in fact, perceive any difference betwixt this rock and that of

the greater part of the Alleghany mountains in Pennsylvania and

Virginia, and particularly those which are of like inconsiderable

elevation. About eight miles from Mr. Curran’s, appeared again, on

the left, very considerable round-top hills, one of them, called

the Mamelle,[127] in the distance, where first visible, appeared

insulated and conic like a volcano. The cliffs bordering the river,

broken into shelvings, were decorated with the red cedar (_Juniperus

virginiana_), and clusters of ferns.

After emerging as it were from so vast a tract of alluvial lands,

as that through which I had now been travelling for more than three

months, it is almost impossible to describe the pleasure which

these romantic prospects again afforded me. Who can be insensible

to the beauty of the verdant hill and valley, to the sublimity of

the clouded mountain, the fearful precipice, or the torrent of

the cataract. Even bald and moss-grown rocks, without the aid of

sculpture, forcibly inspire us with that veneration which we justly

owe to the high antiquity of nature, and which appears to arise no

less from a solemn and intuitive reflection on their vast capacity

for duration, contrasted with that transient scene in which we

ourselves only appear to act a momentary part.

Many of the plants common to every mountainous and hilly region in

the United States, again attracted my attention, and though no way

peculiarly interesting, {107} serve to show the wide extension of

the same species, under the favourable exposure of similar soil and

peculiarity of surface. To me the most surprising feature in the

vegetation of this country, existing under so low a latitude, was

the total absence of all the usual evergreens, as well as of most

of those plants belonging to the natural family of the heaths, the

rhododendrons, and the magnolias; while, on the other hand, we have

an abundance of the arborescent _Leguminosæ_, or trees which bear

pods, similar to the forests of the tropical regions. Here also the

_Sapindus saponaria_, or soap-berry of the West Indies, attains the

magnitude of a tree.

On the banks of the river, near the precise limit of inundation, I

met with a new species of _Sysinbrium_, besides the _S. amphibium_,

so constant in its occurrence along the friable banks of all the

western rivers. This plant, which is creeping and perennial,

possesses precisely the taste of the common cabbage (_Brassica

oleracea_), and, from its early verdure, being already in flower,

might perhaps be better worth cultivating as an early sallad, than

the _Barbarea americana_, or winter sallad.

22d.] From Mr. Blair’s, at which place and in the neighbourhood

Mr. D. spent the remainder of the day, I proceeded down the river

about eight miles, in order to examine the reported silver mine of

that place. My route along the banks of the river lay through rich

and rather open alluvial lands, but, in many places, not free from

transient inundation.

The pretended silver-mine is situated about one mile below White Oak

bayou or rivulet. The search appears to have been induced by the

exposure of the rocks in the bank of the river, which present indeed

an appearance somewhat remarkable. The dip of the strata, about 45°

to the north-west, and the whole texture of the rock, is similar

to that which we have already noticed. The principal and lowest

stratum, {108} is a dark coloured, sandy, but fragile slate-clay;

the upper beds are a fine-grained, siliceous sandstone, containing

grains of mica, and occasionally traversed with veins of quartz. In

one of these veins, about a foot in breadth, were abundance of rock

crystals, scattered over with round masses or imperfect crystals of a

white and diaphanous talc, collected into radii, each plate forming

the segment of a circle.

I was for some time unable to ascertain the character of the

pretended ore of silver, as the whole concern lay abandoned.

I observed, however, that the slags of their furnace betrayed

a considerable proportion of iron in their operations, and at

length I discovered a heap of what appeared to have been the ore,

containing pyrites, some of the crystals of which were cubic, like

those so common around Lancaster (Pennsylvania), in the chlorite

slate. Whether these pyrites did indeed contain silver or not, I

could not absolutely determine, though nothing extraordinary could

reasonably have been expected from their very common appearance and

unequivocal character. On showing these specimens to the neighbours,

they informed me, that the pyrites was the ore in question, while

others asserted it to be sulphur, and considered the siliceous matrix

as the silver ore. It did not, however, to the microscope betray

the smallest metallic vestige which could be taken for silver.

Like all the rest of this rock, it indeed contained abundance of

magnetic iron-sand, which on the disintegration of the stone,

appeared scattered along the strand of the river. Upon the whole,

I am inclined to believe that some imposition had been practised

upon the ignorance and credulity of those who were enticed into this

undertaking. Monsieur Brangiere is the person who first made the

experiment, or attempted to bring the project into execution.

Ever since the time of Soto, reports concerning the discovery of

precious metals in this territory have {109} been cherished; we

see them marked upon the maps, and although the places are easily

discoverable, the gold and silver they were said to afford has

entirely vanished like a fairy dream. It is indeed averred that about

60 dollars worth of silver were obtained from this rock, but that it

was relinquished in consequence of the labour exceeding the profits.

A furnace and several temporary sheds proved that some earnest

attempts had been made, either really or fictitiously, to obtain

silver. If any silver was obtained, it may be considered as connected

with the magnetic iron-sand, which at St. Domingo and in India is

found occasionally mixed with gold and silver.[128]

Du Pratz, after animadverting on the visionary reports of the wealth

of this territory, himself adds; “I found, upon the river of the

Arkansas, a rivulet that rolled down with its water, gold-dust.”

“And as for silver mines, there is no doubt but that they might

be found there, as well as in New Mexico, on which this province

bordered.”[129]

Near to these hills reported to afford silver, I observed two low

aboriginal mounds, though the situation did not appear favourable to

the residence of the natives.

23d.] Mr. D. remained nearly the whole day at J. Piat’s,[130] where

a second family also resides, as well as a third on the opposite

side of the river, and several others in the vicinity. About a

quarter of a mile above Piat’s I amused myself in sketching a view

of the romantic hills that border the river, and which are not less

than 5 to 800 feet high, with the strata inclined about 45° to the

south-east.

[Illustration: Distant View of the Mamelle]

In the afternoon I crossed the river, and ascended to the summit

of these lofty cliffs of slaty and siliceous sandstone, where, from

an elevation of about 600 feet, I obtained a panorama view of the

surrounding country, {110} checquered with low mountains running in

chains from the north of west to the south of east. The meanders

of the river appeared partly hid in the pervading forests of its

alluvial lands, still fertile and expansive. To the west, the lofty,

conic, and broken hill called the Mamelle now appeared nearly double

the elevation of that on which I stood, probably more than 1000 feet

in height. Two miles above, it presented the appearance of a vast

pyramid, hiding its summit in the clouds. In this direction opened an

extensive alluvial valley, probably once the bed of the river, which

from hence makes a general curve of about 20 miles towards the north.

These mountains appear to be connected with the Mazern chain of

Darby, as they continue from hence towards the sources of the Pottoe

of Arkansa, and the Little river, and Kiamesha of Red river.[131]

Amidst these wild and romantic cliffs, and on the ledges of the

rocks, where, moistened by springs, grew a cruciferous plant, very

closely allied, if not absolutely the same, with the _Brassica napus_

or the Rape-seed of Europe, and beyond all question indigenous.

24th.] After taking a second sketch of the Mamelle mountain, from a

different point of view, I proceeded to join the boat, and crossed

a poor and rocky Pine hill. Here the sandstone is scarcely slaty,

and, as usual, more or less ferruginous. Crossing the bayou Palame

(or rather rivulet), I joined the boat at Mr. Gozy’s, in whose

neighbourhood there were also two other families. This evening we

proceeded nearly to the termination of Grand island, which is four

miles in length.

25th.] About a mile below Grand island, on our left, the hills

again come in upon the river, presenting the most romantic cliffs.

In one place particularly, an unbroken fasçade not less than 150

feet of slaty sandstone presents itself, the lamina of which, about

12 or {111} 18 inches in thickness, dipping to the south-east, are

elevated at an angle of near 80° from the horizon, and altogether

resemble the basis of some mighty pyramid. In four miles further we

passed the outlet of Fourche La Fève, said to proceed in a western

direction for 200 miles, and to take its sources in the mountains of

the Pottoe.[132] A north-western range of hills here in the whole

distance border the river, the strata of which, still lamellar, dip

north-north-east, and are inclined about 45°. This evening, at Mr.

Montgomery’s, the Cadron hills appear before us, at the distance of

about six miles.

26th.] A strong north-west wind arose in the night, accompanying

a rise in the river of two and a half feet, and a current of the

velocity of four or five miles per hour.

On the 27th we arrived at the Cadron settlement,[133] containing in a

contiguous space about five or six families. Mr. M’Ilmery,[134] one

of the first, is at present the only resident on the imaginary town

plot. A cove of rocks here affords a safe and convenient harbour, and

a good landing for merchandize.

No village or town, except Arkansas, has yet been produced on the

banks of this river, though I have no doubt, but my remarks may ere

long be quoted and contrasted with a rising state of more condensed

population. Town-lot speculations have already been tried at the

Cadron, which is yet but a proximate chain of farms, and I greatly

doubt whether a town of any consequence on the Arkansa will ever

be chosen on this site. Some high and rich body of alluvial lands

would be better suited for the situation of an inland town, than the

hills and the rocks of the Cadron. Modern cities rarely thrive in

such romantic situations. There is scarcely a hundred yards together

of level ground, and the cove in which Mr. M’Ilmery lives is almost

impenetrably surrounded by tiresome and lofty hills, broken into

ravines, with small rills of water. It {112} is true, that here may

be obtained a solid foundation on which to build, without danger of

dislocation by the perpetual changes and ravages of the river, but in

an agricultural settlement something more is wanting than foundations

for houses.

The Cadron was at this time in the hands of four proprietors, who

last year commenced the sale of town-lots to the amount of 1300

dollars, and the succeeding sale was appointed to take place in the

approaching month of May.

What necessity there may be for projecting a town at this place,

I will not take upon myself to decide, but a house of public

entertainment, a tavern, has long been wanted, as the Cadron lies in

another of the leading routes through this territory. It is one of

the resorts from St. Louis, and the settlements on White river, as

well as to the hot springs of the Washita,[135] and the inhabitants

of Red river. From Arkansas to this place, about 150 miles by land,

there is a leading path which proceeds through the Great Prairie.

To those southern gentlemen who pass the summer in quest of health

and recreation, this route to the hot springs of the Washita, which

I believe is the most convenient, would afford a delightful and

rational amusement.

In the course of the day I amused myself amongst the romantic cliffs

of slaty sand-stone, which occupy the vicinity of the Cadron. Here I

found vestiges of several new and curious plants, and among them an

undescribed species of _Eriogonum_, with a considerable root, partly

of the colour and taste of rhubarb. The _Petalostemons_, and several

plants of the eastern states, which I had not seen below, here again

make their appearance. The _Cactus jerox_ of the Missouri, remarkably

loaded with spines, appears to forebode the vicinity of the Mexican

desert.

The dip of the strata is here south-east, and the mountains,

generally destitute of organic remains, {113} pass off in chains from

the north of west to the south of east.

[Illustration: Mamelle]

28th.] The river still continued rising. This morning I walked out

two or three miles over the hills, and found the land, except

in the small depressions and alluvion of the creek, of an inferior

quality, and chiefly timbered with oaks and hickories thinly

scattered. Ages must elapse before this kind of land will be worth

purchasing at any price. Still, in its present state, it will afford

a good range of pasturage for cattle, producing abundance of herbage,

but would be unfit for cotton or maize, though, perhaps, suited

to the production of smaller grain; there is not, however, yet a

grist-mill on the Arkansa, and flour commonly sells above the Post,

at 12 dollars per barrel. For the preparation of maize, a wooden

mortar, or different kinds of hand or horse-mills are sufficient.

Sugar and coffee are also high priced articles, more particularly

this year. In common, I suppose, sugar retails at 25 cents the pound,

and coffee at 50. Competition will, however, regulate and reduce

the prices of these and other articles, which, but a few years ago,

were sold at such an exorbitant rate, as to be almost proscribed

from general use. There is a maple in this country, or rather, I

believe, on the banks of White river, which has not come under my

notice, called the sugar-tree (though not, as they say, the _Acer

saccharinum_), that would, no doubt, by a little attention afford

sugar at a low rate; and the decoctions of the wood of the sassafras

and spice bush (_Laurus benzoin_), which abound in this country, are

certainly very palatable substitutes for tea.

It is to be regretted that the widely scattered state of the

population in this territory, is but too favourable to the spread

of ignorance and barbarism. The means of education are, at present,

nearly proscribed, and the rising generation are growing up in mental

darkness, like the French hunters who have preceded {114} them, and

who have almost forgot that they appertain to the civilized world.

This barrier will, however, be effectually removed by the progressive

accession of population, which, like a resistless tide, still

continues to set towards the west.

Contiguous to the north-eastern, or opposite declivity of the chain

of hills, which flank the settlement of Mr. M’Ilmery, I observed

in my ramble, a considerable collection of aboriginal tumuli,

towards the centre of which, disposed in a somewhat circular form,

I thought I could still discern an area which had once been trodden

by human feet;--but, alas! both they and their history are buried in

impenetrable oblivion! their existence is blotted out from the page

of the living! and it is only the eye which has been accustomed to

the survey of these relics, that can even distinguish them from the

accidental operations of nature. How dreary is this eternal night

which has overtaken so many of my fellow-mortals!--a race, perhaps

brave, though neither civilized nor luxurious, and who, like the

retreating Scythians pursued by Darius, made, perhaps, at last, an

obstinate resistance around their luckless families, and the revered

tombs of their ancestors!

* * * * *

Besides these tumuli scattered through the forests, there are others

on the summits of the hills, formed of loose stones thrown up in

piles. We have no reason to suppose, that these remains were left by

the Arkansas; they themselves deny it, and attribute them to a people

distinct and governed by a superior policy.

29th and 30th.] Still at Mr. M’Ilmery’s, during which time the

weather has been cold and stormy.

[Illustration: Cadron Settlement]

The United States have now ordered the survey of all the alluvial

and other saleable lands of the Arkansa, which are to be ready for

disposal in about two years from the present time. One of the

surveyors, Mr. Pettis, was now laying out the lands contiguous to

the {115} Cadron into sections. Another surveyor is also employed in

the Great Prairie, and proceeding, at this time, from the vicinity

of Arkansas to this place. The poorer and hilly lands, generally,

are not yet thought to be worth the expense of a public survey. Some

of these surveys, however, extend as far to the north as the banks

of White river. Mr. P. obtains three dollars per mile, for surveying

the river lands, which are extremely difficult, from the density

and extent of the cane-brakes, and the multiplicity of lagoons or

portions of the deserted channel of the river, which, as we have had

already occasion to remark, are still continually forming.

These fine cotton lands have not altogether escaped the view of

speculators, although there is yet left ample room for the settlement

of thousands of families, on lands, which, except the few preemption

rights, will be sold by the impartial hand of the nation, at a

price as reasonable as the public welfare shall admit of, which has

heretofore been at the rate of two dollars the acre, and as no lands

on this river are now surveyed and offered for sale, but such as are

considered to be of the first and second rate, there can consequently

be no room left for imposition, and though there is, indeed, a

considerable proportion of inundated land unavoidably included, yet

in general, as I understand from the surveyor, there will be in

almost every section, a great portion of elevated soils.

The preemption rights, as they are called, are a certain species of

reward or indemnification for injuries sustained in the late war,

and afforded to such individuals only, as had made improvements

in the interior of the territories, prior to the year 1813. Such

individuals, if able to pay, are entitled to one or more quarter

sections, as the lines of their improvements may happen to extend

into the public lines when surveyed, of one or more such plots or

fractional sections of land. These rights have been bought {116} up

by speculators, at from 4 or 500 to 1000 dollars, or at the positive

rate of from 3 to 10 dollars the acre, including the price of two

dollars per acre to the United States; a certain proof of the growing

importance of this country, where lands, previous to the existence

of any positive title, have brought a price equal to that of the

best lands on the banks of the Ohio, not immediately contiguous to

any considerable town. The hilly lands, which have not been thought

worthy of a survey, will afford an invaluable common range for all

kinds of cattle, while the alluvial tracts are employed in producing

maize, cotton, tobacco, or rice. I must, here, however, remark by the

way, that there exists a considerable difference in the nature of

these alluvial soils. They are all loamy, never cold or argillaceous,

but often rather light and sandy; such lands, however, though

inferior for maize, are still well adapted for cotton. The richest

soils here produce 60 to 80 bushels of maize per acre. The inundated

lands, when properly banked so as to exclude and introduce the water

at pleasure by sluices, might be well employed for rice, but the

experiment on this grain has not yet been made, on an extensive

scale, by any individual in the territory, although its success,

in a small way, has been satisfactorily ascertained. Indigo is

occasionally raised for domestic use, but would require more skill in

its preparation for the market. Indeed, as yet, the sum of industry

calculated to afford any satisfactory experiment in agriculture or

domestic economy, has not been exercised by the settlers of the

Arkansa, who, with half the resolution of the German farmers of

Pennsylvania, would ensure to themselves and their families comfort

and affluence.

After the most diligent inquiries concerning the general health

of this country, I do not find any substantial reason to alter

the opinion which I have already advanced. I am, however, firmly

persuaded, {117} that the immediate banks of the Arkansa, in

this respect are to be preferred to the prairies, and I can only

account for this remarkable circumstance, by the unusual admixture

of common salt, or muriate of soda, in its waters, which prevents

it from becoming dangerously putrid in the neighbouring ponds and

lagoons; and I would farther recommend its use to the inhabitants in

preference to any fountain water, however convenient. The pellucid

appearance of the water, in most of the lagoons which have come under

my notice, is, in all probability, attributable to this circumstance.

I was indeed informed that instances of the ague were known at some

seasons, but that this disease had been principally confined to

those who were destitute, through indolence or accidental poverty,

of the proper means of nourishment, and who, after its commencement,

neglected the aid of medicine. A better proof, than the general

healthy appearance of the inhabitants, and the total absence of

doctors, whose aid must of course be unnecessary, need not be adduced

in favour of the prevailing salubrity of the banks of the Arkansa.

From Mr. M’Ilmery, I learn that there exists very considerable tracts

of fertile land, along the banks of La Feve’s creek, which proceeds

in a south-west direction towards Red river for about 200 miles,

deriving its source with Little river of the latter, as well as with

another contiguous stream of the Arkansa, called Petit John, and

likewise with the Pottoe. It is also said to be navigable near 100

miles, and possessed of a gentle current.

From Mr. Pettis, the surveyor, I obtained two small specimens of the

oil-stone, or hone of the Washita. It is a siliceous slaty rock, of a

conchoidal and sometimes splintery fracture, bordering on hornstone;

some of it is as white as snow, and it splits so evenly as to afford

hones without any additional {118} labour. Occasionally it appears

divided by ferruginous illinitions, presenting muscoid ramifications

in relief, but scarcely discolouring the surface. It feebly absorbs

oil or water, and then becomes somewhat diaphanous. It is infusible

by the common blowpipe.[136]

31st.] This evening we proceeded to David M’Ilmery’s, about three

miles above the Cadron, who lived about a mile and a half from the

bank of the river, at the head of a small alluvial plain or prairie,

apparently well calculated for a superior farm. While passing through

this prairie, I observed five deer feeding, and passed almost without

disturbing them.

Wild cats of two kinds, both striped and spotted, as well as

panthers, bears, and wolves (black and grey), are in considerable

abundance in this country. The bison (improperly called buffaloe)

is also met with occasionally in the distance of about a day’s ride

towards the Washita.

The inhabitants were just beginning to plough for cotton, an

operation here not very laborious, except when breaking up the

prairies, as the soil is friable and loamy.

In a small prairie adjoining, where a second family were residing, a

single tree of the bow-wood (or _Maclura_) existed, having a trunk of

about 18 inches diameter.

_April_ 1st.] The Arkansa after a sudden rise had now commenced

again to fall; its inundations being chiefly vernal, taking place

from February to May, are less injurious than those of the Missouri

and Mississippi, which occur in mid-summer, and are consequently

unavoidably injurious to the advancing crops. This circumstance

also tends to prove, that no considerable {119} branch of this

river derives its source within the region of perpetual snow, which

dissolves most in the warmest season of the year, and that its

inundations are merely the effect of winter rains; its rising and

falling, from the same cause, is also much more sudden than that of

the Missouri.

About eight miles from the Cadron, we passed Mr. Marsongill’s,[137]

pleasantly situated on the gentle declivity of a ridge of hills,

which commence about a mile from the river. Three miles further, we

passed Mr. Fraser’s, the commencement of the Pecannerie settlement.

Here, at the distance of more than 12 miles, the hills of the Petit

John appear conspicuous and picturesque. In three miles more, seven

or eight houses are seen, situated along either bank of the river,

and sufficiently contiguous for an agreeable neighbourhood.

From the Cadron upwards, the falls of the rivulets afford

conveniences for mills. A grist-mill did not, however, as yet exist

on the banks of the Arkansa, though a saw-mill had been recently

erected.[138]

2d.] Mr. D. proceeded about eight miles above Fraser’s, and remained

the rest of the afternoon nearly opposite to the bayou or rivulet of

point Remu,[139] from whence, on that side, commences the Cherokee

line. Here the hills again approach in gentle declivities, presenting

beds of black slaty siliceous rock (grauwacke slate), inclined about

60° south-east. Both banks of the river in this distance are one

continued line of farms. Some of the cabins are well situated on

agreeable rising grounds; but the nearer, I perceive, the land is to

the level of inundation, the greater is its fertility. The highest

grounds are thin and sandy, so much so, that occasionally the Cactus

or prickly-pear makes its appearance.

3d.] Still opposite point Remu. On this side of the river, where

Mr. Ellis now resides, an agreeable site for a town offers, but the

landing is bad. A few {120} miles back there are not less than 14

families scattered over the alluvial land. There were also a number

of families settled along the banks of the Remu. Adjoining Mr.

Ellis’s there was a small sandy prairie, over which I found Cactus’s

and the _Plantago gnaphaloides_ abundantly scattered. I am informed

that there are considerable quantities of this poor and sandy

land, though not in any one place very extensive, and immediately

surrounded with richer lands which have been, and are yet skirted

by the overflow. With slight banking, these lands, not too deeply

submerged, will one day be considered the best for all kinds of

produce, but more particularly maize and rice.

4th.] A storm of wind sprang up during the night from the south-west,

and continued so as to retard us, after proceeding with difficulty

about six miles, in which distance we arrived at the house of Mr.

Tucker, situated at the base of a lofty ridge of broken hills, not

less than 6 or 700 feet high, presenting an alternation of terraces

and cliffs, and continuing in a north-west direction nearly the same

height for about eight miles. This range is known by the same name as

that of the contiguous rivulet, the Little John,[140] some Frenchman

probably who first discovered it. At the south-east end I found the

ascent very steep, and which, like most considerable chains, was at

this extremity the highest and most precipitous. From the summit a

vast wilderness presented itself covered with trees, and chequered

with ranges of mountains, which appeared to augment and converge

towards the north-west. To the east a considerable plain stretches

out, almost uninterrupted by elevations. From the south-west I could

enumerate four distinct chains of mountains, of which the furthest,

about 40 miles distant, presented in several places lofty blue peaks,

much higher than any of the intermediate and less broken ridges. I

thought that this ridge tended somewhat towards the Mamelle, whose

summit at this distance {121} was quite distinct, though, at the

lowest estimate, 40 miles distant. To the north-east the hills

traverse the river, and are in this quarter also of great elevation,

affording sources to some of the streams of White river, and to

others which empty into the Arkansa. Over the vast plain immediately

below me, appeared here and there belts of cypress, conspicuous by

their brown tops and horizontal branches; they seem to occupy lagoons

and swamps, at some remote period formed by the river. As it regards

their structure, the lower level of the hills was slaty, the tabular

summits a massive, fine-grained sandstone, containing nodules of

iron ore. In one place I also saw one of those gigantic tessellated

zoophytic impressions,[141] which indicate the existence of coal.

The dip of the sandstone is inconsiderable, and to the north-west.

Towards the southern extremity of the ridge which I ascended, there

are several enormous masses of rock so nicely balanced as almost to

appear the work of art; one of them, like the druidical monuments of

England, rocked backwards and forwards on the slightest touch. On the

shelvings of this extremity of the mountain, I found a new species of

_Anemone_.

As we proceeded in the boat, towards the level of the river, and

about a mile below the entrance of the Petit John, we could perceive

a slaty and partly horizontal bed of matter, in which there were

distinct indications of coal.

5th.] We passed the outlet of the Petit John, a rivulet about 200

miles long, deriving its source with the Pottoe and other streams

in the Mazern mountains. Here the hills turn off abruptly to the

south, and for four or five miles border the rivulet, which, for

some distance, keeping a course not very far from the Arkansa,

approaches within 10 miles to the south-east of the Dardanelle

settlement. At the distance of {122} about five miles from the first

Cherokee village, called the Galley, Mr. D. and myself proceeded

to it by land. The first two or three miles presented elevated and

rich alluvial lands, but in one or two directions bordered by the

back-water. At length we arrived at the Galley hills, a series of

low and agreeable acclivities well suited for building. Here the

Cherokees had a settlement of about a dozen families, who, in the

construction and furniture of their houses, and in the management

of their farms, imitate the whites, and appeared to be progressing

towards civilization, were it not for their baneful attachment to

whiskey. Towards the level of the river a darkish bed of slate-clay

appeared, having a dip of not more than 10 to 15°; beneath which

occurred a slaty sandstone, containing a little mica, and somewhat

darkened apparently by bitumen. It likewise abounded with organic

reliquiæ, among which were something like large alcyonites, sometimes

the thickness of a finger, but flexuous instead of rigid, and

collected together in considerable quantities; also, a moniliform

fossil allied to the Icthyosarcolite of Desmarest, though not very

distinctly, being equally flexuous with the above, and fragments

resembling some species of turrilites, but no shells of any other

description, besides these, were visible.

The insects which injure the morel cherry-tree so much in

Pennsylvania, I perceive, here occasionally act in the same way upon

the branches of the wild cherry, (_Prunus virginiana_).

6th.] This morning the river appeared rapidly rising to its former

elevation, being nearly bank full, almost a mile in width, and but

little short of the Mississippi in magnitude. The current was now

probably four or five miles in the hour, and so difficult to stem,

that after the most laborious exertions since day-light, we were

still in the evening five miles below the Dardanelle, having made

only about 10 miles {123} from the Galley. We have had the low ridge,

which originated this fanciful name, in sight nearly the whole day.

On the same side of the river, but more distant, a magnificent

empurpled mountain occupies the horizon, apparently not less than

1000 feet high, forming a long ridge or table, and abrupt at its

southern extremity. From its peculiar form it had received the name

of the Magazine or Barn by the French hunters.[142] It strongly

resembles the English mountain in the north of Yorkshire, called

Pendle-hill, familiar to me from infancy, and by which all the good

wives in the surrounding country could foretel the weather better

than by the almanac.

Along either bank the lands are generally elevated and fertile, and

pretty thickly scattered with the cabins and farms of the Cherokees,

this being the land allotted to them by congress, in exchange for

others in the Mississippi Territory, where the principal part of the

nation still remain.

I was considerably disappointed in learning that Mr. D. had

relinquished the idea of proceeding to the garrison, with whom I had

entertained the hope of continuing my passage, without interruption

or additional delay.

7th.] Both banks of the river, as we proceeded, were lined with

the houses and farms of the Cherokees, and though their dress was

a mixture of indigenous and European taste, yet in their houses,

which are decently furnished, and in their farms, which were well

fenced and stocked with cattle, we perceive a happy approach towards

civilization. Their numerous families, also, well fed and clothed,

argue a propitious progress in their population. Their superior

industry, either as hunters or farmers, proves the value of property

among them, and they are no longer strangers to avarice, and the

distinctions created by wealth; some of them are possessed of

property to the amount of many thousands of dollars, have houses

handsomely {124} and conveniently furnished, and their tables spread

with our dainties and luxuries.

They say, that their language is perfectly distinct from that of

every other spoken by the aborigines.[143] Yet the Delawares,

according to Mr. Heckewelder, considered them as their descendants.

The following notice of them occurs in La Vega’s history of the

incursion of Ferdinand de Soto, as early as the year 1541. Seven

days’ journey from Cutifachiqui, which is stated to be 430 Spanish

leagues, or 860 miles from the bay of Apalache, and in a direction of

from south-west to north-east, De Soto arrived in a province called

Chalaque (evidently the same people now called Cherokees, as they

call themselves Chalakee). The country they then occupied was said

to be sterile, and affording but little maize, that they fed upon

spontaneous roots and herbs, which they sought in the wilds, and upon

the animals of the forest, hunted with bows and arrows. In their

manners they were gentle, and went habitually naked. Their chief sent

as a present to De Soto a couple of deer skins, and their country

abounded with wild hens (probably the Prairie hen, _Tetrao cupido_).

In one town they made him a present of 700 of these birds, and he

experienced the like liberality in several other of their towns.[144]

They were acquainted with this country prior to their removal,

but never laid any claim to it. It was merely the resort of their

renegadoes and wandering hunters. The number who have now emigrated

hither are about 1500. The unsettled limit of their claim in this

country, has been the means of producing some dissatisfaction, and

exciting their jealousy {125} against the agents of government.

One of their principal chiefs had said, that rather than suffer any

embarrassment and uncertainty, he would proceed across Red river,

and petition land from the Spaniards. The Cherokees, with their

present civilized habits, industry, and augmenting population, would

prove a dangerous enemy to the frontiers of the Arkansa Territory.

As they have explicitly given up the lands which they possessed in

the Mississippi Territory, in exchange for those which they have

chosen here, there can be no reason why they should not immediately

be confirmed, so as to preclude the visits of land speculators, which

excite their jealousy. A serious misunderstanding will probably arise

at their ejectment from the south side of the river, which has, I

believe, been concluded on by the government. Although the power of

the natives is now despised, who can at this time tell, what may grow

out of this nation of the aborigines, who, by wisely embracing the

habits and industry of the Anglo-Americans, may in time increase,

and become a powerful and independent nation, subject by habit to a

monarchial form of government.

We find mention, as already remarked, of the Cherokees (under the

name of Chalaque) by Garcilasso de la Vega, who found them living

near the Apalachian mountains, and speaks in contempt of their

poverty and population. At this time, however, they amount to

between 12 and 13,000 souls, and are in a promising way of advancing

beyond all the other aborigines in strength and population. From

examining the oldest histories and maps, it appears that a portion

of this nation also occupied the sea-coast of South Carolina, where,

according to a tradition still extant, they first saw the white

people approach in ships, near to the present site of the city of

Charlestown. They requested, say they, a small portion of land,

which was readily granted, but at length encroached {126} upon us,

until we had to cross the mountains, and now even the banks of the

Mississippi.[145]

Arriving in the afternoon at Mr. Raphael’s, who keeps a store for

the supply of the Cherokees, I hastened to examine the neighbouring

ridge of rocks, which originated the name of the Dardanelle, or

as it is here more commonly called Derdanai, both by the French

and Americans.[146] The fires which commonly take place among the

dry herbage, and which had but recently been in action, prevented

me from making any botanical collections, and I amused myself by

ascending the ridge, which, at the first approach, appeared to be

inaccessible. At length I gained the summit, which, at the highest

point on the bank of the river, might be about 300 feet. The rock was

a massive sandstone, with the laminæ elevated towards the south-east,

at an inclination of near 60°, and, in many places intricately

traversed with seams of ferruginous matter, presenting, by their

numerous intersections, an almost tessellated or retiform appearance.

In some specimens, the interstices were perfectly rhomboidal, and

separated into rhombic fragments. Several enormous and romantic

blocks were scattered along the margin of the river, and on some of

them small trees were growing. From the summit opened another sublime

view of the surrounding country. Again to the south and south-west,

I could distinguish three of the four chains of mountains, which

were visible from the high hills of the Petit John, and still, to my

surprise, distinctly appeared the Mamelle, though, by water, near

upon 100 miles distant, and not less than 60 by land, which would

appear to argue an elevation more considerable than that which I

had at first imagined. The Magazine mountain to the west, though,

at first, apparently so near, is not less than 10 miles distant,

looking, if any thing, more considerably elevated than the Mamelle,

and probably not less than 1200 feet high. In this point of view,

it appears {127} isolated, gradually descending into the plain,

and accumulating in magnitude to the north-west; it here descends

rather more abruptly, though the highest point is still to the south,

where it appears to rise in broken fasçades unconnectedly with the

auxiliary ridge.

8th.] From the Cherokees I understood that there still exists some

portion of the Natchez, who live with the Choctaws, near Mobile

river. It would be interesting to learn, what affinities their

language possesses with that of the existing nations. The Chetimachas

of bayou Placquimine, said by Du Pratz to speak the same language,

and to be a branch of the same people, might also afford some

information concerning the Natchez and their connections.[147]

In the evening, we crossed to the right-hand cliff of the Dardanelle,

where Mr. D. again renewed his trade with the Indians and their

retailers. I embraced this opportunity to make one of my usual

rambles, and found an extraordinary difference in the progress

of vegetation here, exposed to the south and sheltered from the

north-western wind. Proceeding leisurely towards the summit of the

hill, I was amused by the gentle murmurs of a rill of pellucid

water, which broke from rock to rock. The acclivity, through a

scanty thicket, rather than the usual sombre forest, was already

adorned with violets, and occasional clusters of the parti-coloured

Collinsia. The groves and thickets were whitened with the blossoms of

the Dogwood (Cornus florida). The lugubrious vociferations of the

whip-poor-will; the croaking frogs, chirping crickets, and whoops and

halloos of the Indians, broke not disagreeably the silence of a calm

and fine evening, in which the thermometer still remained at 70°;

and though the scene was not finished in the usual style of rural

landscape, yet to me it was peculiarly agreeable, when contrasted

with the dull monotony of a gloomy and interminable forest, {128}

whose solitude had scarcely ever been cheered by the voices or

habitations of men.

9th.] In the forenoon, I proceeded to Mr. Webber’s, along the hills

of the Dardanelle, which border the right bank of the river, opposite

to which, a contiguous ridge and similar cliffs also appear, forming,

as it were, a wide chasm traversed by the river. The approach of

these hills to either bank, like vast portals, probably originated

the name of this place. Walking along the margin of the continued

precipice which bordered the river, I observed a brownish animal

quickly retreating into its burrow, which in size appeared to be

little short of that of a mole. On rolling away a fragment of rock,

I succeeded in discovering that the object of my pursuit was an

enormous spider, no less than four inches from the extremity of one

foot to that of the other, and two inches from head to tail, covered

with long brown hair; the eyes six in number and minute, the mouth

not discoverable, but in the place of jaws, as in the Monoculi,

two of the six pair of feet, of a strong cartilaginous texture,

very short and retracted together, each terminated by a simple

hooked claw, and internally lined with a row of minute teeth for

mastication. In fact, it entirely resembled those gigantic tropical

spiders, which we see exhibited in museums.

The rocks, like many others which we had now seen, are still

arenilitic, and apparently destitute of organic remains. From the

enormous dislocated masses and gaping chasms which here border the

precipice, I am strongly inclined to believe, that this ridge had, at

some period, been convulsed by an earthquake.

In the course of my inquiries concerning minerals, I was told of the

existence of a silver mine, somewhere along the banks of White river,

but though the opinion is a very prevalent one, it is necessary to

receive it with caution. Fragments of pyrites, as {129} usual, have

been shown to me for precious ores, and the true statement of their

value, so contrary to sanguine expectation, is often treated as an

imposition to conceal their importance.

Mr. Walter Webber, a metif, who acts as an Indian trader, is also a

chief of the nation, and lives in ease and affluence, possessing a

decently furnished and well provided house, several negro slaves,

a large, well cleared, and well fenced farm; and both himself and

his nephew read, write, and speak English. Yesterday, while passing

along the bank of the river, I observed with pleasure the fine

farms and comfortable cabins occupied by the Indians, and found

them very busily employed felling trees, and clearing their grounds

preparatory to the seedtime. The failure, however, of last year’s

crops, in consequence of the dry weather, was severely felt, and

more particularly in consequence of the arrival among them of many

ill-provided families of emigrants from the old nation.

In the evening, the brother of their late principal chief

Tallantusky,[148] arrived here, accompanied by his wife and two or

three other Indians. He last year took leave of the old nation in

the Mississippi territory, and embarked with the emigrants, who are

yet far from forming a majority of the nation. Being a half Indian,

and dressed as a white man, I should scarcely have distinguished him

from an American, except by his language. He was very plain, prudent,

and unassuming in his dress and manners; a Franklin amongst his

countrymen, and affectionately called the “beloved” father. Sensible

to the wants of those who had accompanied him in his emigration, he

had confidently expected a supply of flour and salt from Mr. Drope,

all of which articles had, however, been sold below, excepting a

small quantity reserved for the chief himself. He could have sent, he

said, some of his people down to the mouth of the river, to purchase

maize and flour, but that it would interrupt them {130} in preparing

their fields for the ensuing crop. Mr. D., who had in the Mississippi

territory become acquainted with Jolly,[149] the chief, tells me that

his word was inviolable, and that his generosity knew no bounds, but

the limitation of his means.

11th.] Returning from my rambles to-day, chiefly in quest of insects,

I picked off my skin and clothes more than 50 ticks (_Acarus

sanguisugas_), which are here more abundant and troublesome than in

any other part of America in which I have yet been. Many of the same

kinds of insects, common to the banks of the Missouri, and, indeed,

to most parts of the United States, are also found in this territory.

From the hills in the vicinity of Mr. Webber’s, I obtained a fine

view of the Magazine mountain, and now found that it was connected

with a range of others, proceeding for many miles a little to the

north of west. The side which here presents itself, appeared almost

inaccessibly precipitous.

15th.] This afternoon, I had again the pleasure of seeing the brother

of the late governor Lewis, now Cherokee agent, whom I had first met

with at fort Mandan, on the Missouri.[150] From him I learn, that

the progress of civilization among the Cherokees, is comparatively

modern; that Nancy Ward,[151] called by way of eminence and esteem

“the beloved,” first introduced among them the domesticated cow.

From her have sprung several men of distinction in the nation, by

whose influence and example the condition of their Indian brethren

has been ameliorated. Her advice and council borders on supreme, her

interference is allowed to be decisive even in affairs of life and

death.

From the civilized Cherokees, with whom alone I could conveniently

hold converse, I found it extremely difficult to acquire any

knowledge, either of the traditions, opinions, or ancient customs

of their nation. The humiliating details of former poverty, {131}

ignorance, and superstition, tended to wound the feelings of those,

who, besides the advantages, had also imbibed the pride and luxury of

Europe. If the Cherokees had only discarded their superstitions, and

retained their social virtues, besides acquiring habits of industry,

we might indeed congratulate them on the change of their condition;

but, unfortunately, with the superior intelligence, conveniences,

and luxuries of civilization, have also been acquired that selfish

attachment to property, that love of riches, which, though not really

intrinsic, have still the power to purchase sinister interest, and

separate the condition of men, and hence arises that accumulation of

laws and punishments, from which the patriarchal state of those we

call savages was so happily exempt. No legal snares were laid for

the heedless; no gallows erected for the guilty; no contest arose

for wealth or power. Every tribe was but a single family; their aged

chief and his venerable associates were as fathers, governors, and

advisers. Their young men considered themselves as brothers. No one

was rich while the others were poor; and they considered nothing

of value that was not essentially useful. As their frugal wants

were almost spontaneously supplied, they were strangers alike to

poverty and affluence; they boasted not of possessions; and were

habitually hospitable to strangers. Scarcely sensible of want, they

were alive to friendship and undissembled passions. Their pride,

confined to personal excellence, was always checked by the emulation

of superior worth, sanctioned and acknowledged by the approbation of

the aged.

[Illustration: Magazin Mountain]

Almost unrestrained by artifice or moral education, we should,

perhaps, expect the man of nature to become the prey of passion,

like the irrational creation. Yet so nicely balanced, in every

situation, is the proportion of good and evil allotted to humanity,

that one stage of society has but little advantage over another.

{132} Nature is not a cruel demon, nor delights in the accomplishment

of destruction. Those who are fed by her frugal bounties are but

seldom hurried into excess; indeed, the nations of America were

stigmatized with apathy, so great was their command of the social

passions, and their magnanimity under suffering. But the dire hatred

which they bore their enemies, was a lasting proof of the strength

of their affections, and mutual attachment. They felt for each other

as members of the same family, as sons of the same father; a band

of brothers mutually bound to defend and revenge the cause of each

other, by a just and undeviating system of retaliation.

Their affection for those, whom time or casualty removed from the

social circle, was as great and sincere, as extravagant demonstration

could possibly declare. Among the Cherokees and others, the dead were

not only accompanied by the choicest things which they had valued in

life, but even, if a chief or father, interred in the house which had

been his habitation, and which was thenceforth devoted to ruin and

desolation. So awful even was the inanimate body then considered,

that all who had immediately attended the interment, or touched the

corpse, refrained from the company of their wives and families, for

the space of seven days and nights.

* * * * *

In no part of North America have we ever met with that kind of

irrational adoration called idolatry. All the natives acknowledged

the existence of a great, good, and indivisible Spirit, the author

of all created being. Believing also in the immortality of the soul,

and in the existence of invisible agencies, they were often subjected

to superstitious fears, and the observance of omens and dreams,

the workings of perturbed fancy. By these imaginary admonitions,

they sometimes suffered themselves to be controlled in their most

important undertakings, relinquishing every {133} thing which was

accidentally attended by any inauspicious presage of misfortune.

As among the Asiatics, and other imperfectly civilized nations, the

condition of the female sex bordered upon degradation. Considered

rather as objects of pleasure and necessity, than as rational

companions, several of them often lived together in the house of the

same husband. However custom might have tolerated this habit, we are

happy to find that civilization tends to its abolition. Polygamy

among the Cherokees, without any legal restraint, will, in time, be

spontaneously abandoned, as their conjugal attachment appears to be

strong and sincere.

Marriage among the Cherokees, as with most of the natives, was

formerly consummated with very little ceremony. When a young man

became enamoured, it was the custom modestly to declare his desire

to marry through the medium of some female relative, who exclusively

conferred with the mother, the father never interfering. If the

mother agreed, and thought well of the proposal, it was immediately

made known. If not, she put off making a direct answer by a reference

to her brother or eldest son. Consent being obtained of the mother,

the bridegroom without much further conference with the bride, was

then told where she lay, and thenceforward admitted to her bed.

From some cause or other, it appears, that the women of the Cherokees

frequently made use of means to promote abortion, which at length

became so alarming, as to occasion a resort to punishment by whipping.

In all stages of society regulations have existed, either as

controling customs, or written laws, whereby the conduct of men

with each other was limited and restrained. A system of equity

was established, more or less strictly according with justice, as

influenced by exterior circumstances; thus life was claimed for {134}

life, and objects wrested from the weak or unsuspecting, restored by

the interference of moral power vested in superiors and rulers. Among

the Cherokees and other Indians of North America, the conviction of

natural justice went so far as frequently to draw no distinction of

punishment betwixt manslaughter and murder. Governed also by the

idea of a general fraternity existing throughout a tribe of people,

the brother of a murderer, or even his nearest relative was not

secure from the fatal avenger, in the absence of the principal. In

consequence of this, it sometimes happened that the brother became

the executioner of his brother or nearest relative, who had committed

a murder, in order to save himself from vengeance. He who had taken

away the life of another, either by malice or accident, was also

occasionally suffered to redeem it, by obtaining and presenting to

the injured party, a scalp or a prisoner of the enemy, as they were

satisfied in any way to obtain life for life.

An institution, I believe unparalleled in the policy of the northern

natives, except among the Cherokees and Creeks (and which has been

quoted by Mr. Adair[152] in order to prove an affinity with the

Jews), was the existence of a town of refuge, inhabited by the

supreme chief, in which no blood was suffered to be shed, and into

which those who had committed manslaughter and other crimes were

suffered to enter on excusing themselves or professing contrition.

With the inequality of fortune which civilization has introduced

among the Cherokees, we find also a severity in their legal

punishments, to which they were formerly strangers. Out of their

salaries now received from government, they appropriate a certain sum

towards the support of a police, whose duty it is to punish those who

are guilty of crimes against the public. A man who has for the first

time been convicted of horse-stealing, receives a punishment of 100

lashes, and for the second offence 200, thus increasing {135} the

punishment for every additional offence. For stealing a cow 50 lashes

were inflicted, and so on, in proportion to the value of the property

stolen.

Mr. John Rogers,[153] a very respectable and civilized Cherokee,

told me that one of the regulators happening to have a relation who

had been repeatedly guilty of theft, and finding him incorrigible,

he destroyed his eye-sight with a penknife, saying, “as long as

you can see you will steal, I will therefore prevent your thefts

by the destruction of your sight.” Dissatisfied with this system

of punishment, many of the poor renegadoes fled from the bosom of

the Cherokee nation, and came to the banks of the Arkansa and Red

river. The same punishment for theft will now, however, probably be

established also in this territory.

The former preparation of the warrior, among the Cherokees, was more

calculated to inspire fortitude under suffering than courage in the

field. The chief was ever attentive to the admonition of dreams and

omens. They sung the songs of war, and imposed upon themselves the

most rigid fasts and mortifying ablutions, at all seasons of the

year, in order to obtain a favourable omen for their departure. Day

after day these privations and voluntary sufferings were continued

with fearful austerity, and those who might express a wish for

relaxation were desired to leave the society.

* * * * *

The arrival of the Cherokees in this country did not fail, as might

have been foreseen, to excite the jealousy of the Osages, within

whose former territory they had now taken up their residence. Major

Lovely, the first agent appointed to reside among the Cherokees

of the Arkansa, on his arrival held a council with the Osages at

the falls of the Verdigris, and about 60 miles distant from their

village. Some quarrel, however, about two years ago arising between

the two nations, {136} the Osages way-layed 12 or 14 of the Cherokees

and killed them. On this occasion, the Cherokees collected together

in considerable numbers, and ascended the river to take revenge upon

the Osages, who fled at their approach, losing about 10 of their men,

who either fell in the retreat, or becoming prisoners, were reserved

for a more cruel destiny. The Cherokees, now forgetting the claims

of civilization, fell upon the old and decrepid, upon the women and

innocent children, and by their own account destroyed not less than

90 individuals! and carried away a number of prisoners. A white

man who accompanied them (named Chisholm),[154] with a diabolical

cruelty that ought to have been punished with death, dashed out the

brains of a helpless infant, torn from the arms of its butchered

mother! Satiated with a horrid vengeance, the Cherokees returned with

exultation to bear the tidings of their own infamy and atrocity.[155]

It appears, to me, to have been the duty of the superintendent of

Indian affairs to have apprehended that white man, and delivered

him over to the government for trial and punishment. Without some

interference of this kind, and indeed a cognizance of the conduct

of every white man found permanently dwelling among the Indians, it

will not be possible for a traveller or a merchant to go amongst

these people without incurring the greatest personal risk, as their

revenge is but too often indiscriminate in its object; neither can

the security of the frontier settlements ever be rendered certain,

until these wanton and unprovoked cruelties of the whites, and their

piratical wars, be prevented.

Two or three families of the Delawares are now living with

the Cherokees, who appeared to be very poor, and addicted to

intoxication. Another remnant of these unfortunate people, once so

considerable, is also about to be transferred from the state of Ohio

to the {137} banks of the Arkansa, where, it is to be hoped, they

will enjoy amidst domestic tranquillity the superior advantages of

civilization.

17th.] My rambles to-day were rewarded with the discovery of a new

genus, of the class Tetradynamia or Cruciferæ, allied to _Ricotia_

and _Lunaria_. In the evening I visited Mr. Rollins, the agent for

Indian trade, who treated me with politeness and hospitality.

FOOTNOTES:

[98] Beards Town appears in Finley’s Atlas of 1826 just west of

Little Meto Creek, thirty-five or forty miles above the Post, but

it disappears from later maps. Beards Town was opposite the modern

village of Heckatoo.--ED.

[99] Big Bayou Meto is the first important northern tributary of the

Arkansas. It now forms part of the boundary between Jefferson and

Arkansas counties. Little Bayou Meto is a few miles farther up.--ED.

[100] Daniel Mooney was one of the earliest settlers in Arkansas

after the cession to the United States. His name appears on the

records of Arkansas County as early as 1804. In 1814 he was appointed

sheriff by William Clark, then governor of Missouri Territory, of

which Arkansas was still a part.--ED.

[101] The name of this chief is preserved in the village of Heckatoo.

Heckatoo (Heketon, in correspondence of Indian agent) removed with

his tribe to Indian Territory and died there. His successor was a

half-breed named Sarrasin, who in his old age returned to his native

country, and persuaded Governor William F. Pope (1829–35) to allow

him to die in his former home.--ED.

[102] This treaty was signed by William Clark and Auguste Chouteau,

commissioners for the United States, on August 24, 1818, and ratified

by the Senate December 23. Nuttall does not give the boundaries quite

correctly. The cession line passed up the Arkansas and the Canadian

Fork to the source, thence south to Red River, and down its middle

to the “Big Raft,” thence directly to a spot on the Mississippi

thirty leagues in a straight line below the mouth of the Arkansas.

All claims to lands north of the Arkansas and east of the Mississippi

were also abandoned. The reservation, lying within the limits

specified, was bounded by a line running due southwest from Arkansas

Post to the Ouachita, thence up the river and the Saline Fork to

a point directly southwest from Little Rock, from that point to

Little Rock, and down the right bank of the Arkansas to the point of

beginning. See _American State Papers: Indian Affairs_, ii, p. 165.

This reservation was ceded by the treaty of November 15, 1824.--ED.

[103] The name is a corruption of _ká-ede_, meaning chief. There are

three groups of the Caddo family; the northern is represented by

the Arikara of North Dakota; the middle, principally by the Pawnee

of southern Nebraska; and the southern, by the Caddo, Wichita,

Kichai, and other tribes. The home of the southern group included

southwestern Arkansas, eastern Texas, and most of Louisiana.--ED.

[104] Another name for the Quapaw. See _ante_, p. 122.--ED.

[105] William Clark, the brother of George Rogers Clark, who

conquered the Northwest during the Revolutionary War, and the

associate of Meriwether Lewis on the famous transcontinental

expedition of 1803–06, was born in Virginia in 1770. He entered the

army in 1792, and shared in several Western campaigns, notably that

of Wayne in 1794–95. In 1796 he left the service on account of ill

health, and became a hunter and trapper. After the expedition to

the Pacific coast, Clark was stationed at St. Louis as Indian agent

and brigadier-general of militia. In 1813 he became governor of

the Missouri Territory, which at first included Arkansas. Upon the

admission of Missouri to statehood, he was appointed superintendent

of Indian affairs, and remained at St. Louis in this capacity until

his death, in 1838.--ED.

[106] Few settlers had entered this region prior to Nuttall’s

journey, and most of these were thinly scattered along the river.

Many of the English names which Nuttall mentions on the following

pages are those of men who had settled on the river, in Jefferson

County, during the year or two preceding his visit. Morrison was

on the south bank. The Dardennes, or Dardennis, and the Masons,

mentioned below, were on the north side.--ED.

[107] Plum Bayou, not shown on ordinary maps, flows southeast through

the centre of the north half of Jefferson County, roughly parallel

to the river, which it enters six miles above New Gascony. Most of

its course is through the township of the same name. A village called

Plum Bayou is near the northwest corner of the county, four or five

miles north of the source of the stream.--ED.

[108] Nuttall doubtless means Major Lewismore Vaugine, mentioned a

few lines below.--ED.

[109] The infertile plant cultivated in the vicinity of the city

of London, has received the name of _Vitis odoratissima_, by

the gardeners, an epithet which does not express any peculiar

character.--NUTTALL.

[110] Although Vaugine was for several generations a prominent name

in the Southwest, and is still borne by the township in Jefferson

County in which the county town is located, it is difficult to

distinguish the different individuals who possessed it. It was

borne by one of the French officers who remained in Louisiana after

its cession to Spain; and it was the name of another Frenchman who

emigrated to New Orleans late in the eighteenth century, removed

later to Arkansas Post, and finally settled, as farmer and trader,

four miles below Pine Bluff, where he died in 1831, aged sixty-three

years. As the latter served as major in the War of 1812–15, he

is probably the Major Lewismore Vaugine of the text; but his

relationship to the first mentioned does not appear. Other members of

the family were prominent in Jefferson County as late as the close of

the War of Secession.--ED.

[111] Nathaniel Prior (sometimes spelled Pryor and Pryer) enlisted

under Lewis and Clark as a private, being later appointed sergeant.

In 1807, then an ensign, he was appointed to escort to his home

the Mandan chief Shahaka (“Big White”), who had visited Washington

at the request of the explorers. Prior’s party were fired upon by

the Sioux, and compelled to return to St. Louis; it was not until

September, 1809, that Shahaka could be returned to his people--this

time escorted by an expedition under Pierre Chouteau. Prior continued

in the regular army until 1815, at which time he was a captain.--ED.

[112] According to local histories, the first permanent white settler

at this point was Joseph Bonne, a French trapper and hunter, who came

about 1819.--ED.

[113] This bluff is the site of the town of Pine Bluff, seat of

Jefferson County. The town was laid out about 1837, and incorporated

in 1848; but the county was organized in 1829, the court being from

the beginning held at the “Bluff.” For ten years there served as

court-house a house which Bonne built in 1825, on the river bank

between Chestnut and Walnut streets of the present town, on land

which has since caved into the river. When built, it was near the

camp of the Quapaw chief Sarrasin (see _ante_, note 101).--ED.

[114] Metif, from French _métif_, meaning of mixed breed;

specifically, the offspring of a white and a quadroon.--ED.

[115] Ambrose Bartholomew was one of the early settlers on the north

bank of the river.--ED.

[116] See _ante_, note 85; also Cuming’s _Tour_, volume iv of our

series, note 195. The date of this visit of Tonty is not exactly

known, but it was in the spring of 1686. He left Illinois to seek La

Salle in February, and left Texas for the return journey on Easter

Monday. He was again in Illinois on June 24.

Other settlers at Pine Bluff besides Bonne were John Derresseaux

and one Prewett. The preponderance in this neighborhood of settlers of

French blood is indicated not only by the names of persons, but also by

the fact that New Gascony is the name of one of the oldest towns.

It is said that the first white man in Jefferson County was Leon

Le Roy, one of Tonty’s men, who deserted from the Post in 1690. He

was held in captivity for fourteen years by the Osage, and when he

escaped was captured and adopted by the Quapaw, whom he taught the use

of firearms. When the Quapaw treaty of 1818 was made, one chief gave

the commissioners, as an emblem of friendship, a gun said to be the

one which Le Roy had a century earlier taught the Quapaw to use. This

weapon is preserved in the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington.--ED.

[117] _Cupressus disticha._--NUTTALL.

[118] Great Prairie, or Grand Prairie, as it is usually called, is

the low upland north of the Arkansas. The tract especially designated

by this name is about ninety miles long and from ten to fifteen wide,

and roughly runs parallel to the river.--ED.

[119] Peter Lefevre, a French Canadian, settled in the fall of 1818

on the north side of the river about six miles below Little Rock.

Descendants still dwelt upon the identical spot a few years ago. The

name is common in the early history of this section. In corrupted

form it is preserved in Fourche la Fave Creek, which flows eastward

through Perry County.--ED.

[120] About the year 1814, Wright Daniels located on the north side

of the river, four miles below Little Rock. Robert Jones came to the

same neighborhood in 1818.--ED.

[121] See _post_, note 126.--ED.

[122] The Cayas of La Vega are the modern Kansa.--ED.

[123] Called La Petite Rochelle by the French, to distinguish it

from the larger rocky promontory two miles farther up the river. A

few settlers located here as early as 1818. Little Rock became the

capital of the territory in 1821, and the same year it was proposed

to rechristen it Arkopolis. Although never officially adopted, this

name appears on some old maps.--ED.

[124] Edmund Hogan, from Georgia, was said to be the first permanent

settler of Pulaski County. Upon the organization of the county in

1819, he was appointed justice of the peace.--ED.

[125] The Saline joins the Ouachita a few miles from the southern

boundary of Arkansas, but its headwaters are in Saline County,

which joins Pulaski on the west. This river should be distinguished

from the Saline branch of Little River, a tributary of the Red. The

settlement here referred to was near the point where the road to Hot

Springs crossed the Saline. It was begun (1815) by William Lockert

(or Lockhart), from North Carolina; other families came in 1817. See

James, _Expedition_, volume xvii of our series, p. 300 (original

pagination).--ED.

[126] Nuttall’s description of the course of the road below Little

Rock is confusing. By the thermal springs he means the site of Hot

Springs, where the road forked. The eastern branch followed the

Ouachita to the side of the modern town of Monroe, seat of Ouachita

Parish, Louisiana, where was Nuttall’s “post of Washita;” thence it

ran southwest to Natchitoches, on Red River, an old French mission

town, founded in 1714, now the seat of Natchitoches Parish. The other

branch ran almost directly south to Natchitoches, and on Darby’s map

of 1816 is marked, “Trace from Natchitoches to Hot Springs.”

Mount Prairie was not on the headwaters of the Saline Fork of the

Ouachita where Nuttall’s map places it. The name suggests the old

French “upper settlement” on Red River, which was near the old Caddo

village, situated in Long Prairie, south of Red River, about fifty

miles above Little River. In this prairie was a hill which the Indians

regarded with superstitious veneration. However, the settlements on Red

River, near the mouth of the Kiamichi, are probably meant (see _post_,

notes 182, 184). The trail from St. Louis to Little Rock, which passed

through Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was followed by Major S. H. Long on

his expedition into Arkansas (1810). Members of Long’s exploring party

of 1819–20, who followed this “great road” from the Saline to Little

Rock, called it then an “obscure path.”--ED.

[127] The Mamelle is at the mouth of a stream which is still marked

on the maps as the Maumelle, a corruption of the original. The name

was not infrequently applied by the French to hills of breast-like

form. This peak is now called “The Pinnacle.”--ED.

[128] A granitic formation is exposed in central Arkansas, extending

from Pulaski County to Pike. Argentiferous galena is found throughout

this area, but is especially rich around Silver City in Montgomery

County. The Spaniards left numerous old diggings as evidence of their

knowledge of the existence not only of lead, but of more valuable

metals. At one time considerable quantities of silver were obtained

from lead mines a few miles north of Little Rock. A gold “craze” was

caused in 1809 by the finding of a nugget in the same neighborhood

where Nuttall places the silver mine.--ED.

[129] Hist. Louisian. p. 219, London Edition.--NUTTALL. _Comment by

Ed._ Second London edition (1764).

[130] Major James Pyeatt and his brother Jacob came from North

Carolina in wagons in 1807, and the settlement which grew up about

them was called Pyeattstown. It was twelve miles above Little Rock,

but has disappeared. Here resided for a time James Miller, first

governor of Arkansas Territory. See _post_, note 214.--ED.

[131] The Mamelle terminates a range of hills to which it gives name

(known locally as the Maumelle Mountains). North of this lies the

valley of Fourche la Fave River, and between this valley and that of

the Arkansas rises another range of hills. See _post_, note 181.--ED.

[132] The name of this stream is derived from Lefevre, the name of

a French family prominent in early Arkansas history (see _ante_,

note 119). The sources of the stream are near the western boundary

of the state, in Scott County; its headwaters are only a few miles

from those of Little River, a tributary of the Red, and those of the

Ouachita lie between; it flows slightly to the north of east.--ED.

[133] The site of Cadron settlement was the mouth of Cadron Creek,

thirty-eight miles above Little Rock, in Faulkner County. In 1820 it

was made the seat of justice for Pulaski County against the wishes of

Governor James Miller, who favored Pyeattstown, his own residence.

In time Cadron fell into decay, and it has now disappeared from the

map.--ED.

[134] John McElmurray settled at Cadron prior to 1818. In the spring

of that year he had for neighbors Benjamin Murphy, Harvey Hager, and

families named McFarland and Newell.--ED.

[135] Hot Springs, now the famous health resort in Garland County.

The spot was widely known among the Indians, and De Soto, led on

by their reports, probably visited it in 1542. Summer parties of

wealthy planters began to frequent the region early in the nineteenth

century, and to such visits were doubtless due the well-marked roads

from Natchitoches, described above (see _ante_, note 126). The town

of Hot Springs is of late growth; it was a mere village in 1860. A

tract of four square miles surrounding the springs was purchased in

1877 by the government, and is now a national park.--ED.

[136] For a further account of this mineral, which appeared to be

undescribed, see a note in the Essay on the Geological Structure of

the Valley of the Mississippi, which I published in the first part

of the second volume of the Journal of the Academy of the Natural

Sciences of Philadelphia.--NUTTALL.

[137] The name may be a corruption of Massengill. Two brothers of

this name, who had been Tories during the American Revolution,

drifted into the region in 1818, and soon passed on before the

advancing tide of civilization. On the Pecannerie settlement and the

character of its people, see _post_, pp. 280–281.--ED.

[138] If the date given by local authorities is correct, Nuttall is

wrong in asserting that no grist-mill had been set up prior to his

visit. William and John Standlee are said to have erected a grist-

and saw-mill in 1818, the first within the present limits of Faulkner

County.--ED.

[139] Or Point Remove, whose name is derived from the action of the

current. For the boundary of the Cherokee reservation, see _post_,

note 145.--ED.

[140] The Little John (or Petit Jean) enters the Arkansas at the

northeast corner of Yell County. Tradition says that the stream is

named for a Frenchman of small stature, named Jean, who was here

killed by the Indians.--ED.

[141] A Strobilaria, more commonly considered as a species of

Phytolite.--NUTTALL.

[142] Magazine Mountain rises two hundred and eighty feet above the

level of the stream. It terminates on the river in the headland

called the “Dardanelle,” to be described a few pages below.--ED.

[143] Charlevoix also remarks, “I cannot find out to what language

the Cherokees belong, a pretty numerous people, who inhabit the

vast meadows between the Lake Erie, and the Mississippi,” and adds,

that the Iroquois make war with them. Hist. Journal, p. 115, London

Ed.--NUTTALL.

[144] Purchas’s Pilgrims, vol. IV., p. 1539.--NUTTALL.

[145] It is not now believed that the Cherokee ever occupied the

Carolina coast. It is more probable that they came from the north, a

century or two before De Soto visited them. Their traditions and the

researches of archæologists indicate that their original home was

northwest of Lake Superior, whence they migrated southeast, coming up

the Ohio and the Kanawha valleys, and finally descending the Great

Valley of the Appalachians to their historic seat. They are thought

to have built, _en passant_, the mounds of the Ohio region.

The removal policy was a gradual development. Even before the close

of the eighteenth century--soon, in fact, after the treaty of Hopewell

(1785)--bands began to cross the Mississippi; and as the pressure of

white population increased the migration was facilitated by treaties.

In 1803, President Jefferson suggested the desirability of removing the

tribe beyond the river, and the Act of 1804, dividing the Louisiana

Purchase, appropriated $15,000 for this purpose. In 1809, Jefferson

encouraged a part of the tribe which was discontented with existing

conditions to send a delegation to inspect lands on the Arkansas, with

a view to exchanging their old range for a new one in that region. The

exchange was not consummated until 1817, by which time the migration of

families and small parties had swelled the number in Arkansas to two or

three thousand. The treaty of July 8, 1817, gave the Arkansas Cherokee

a tract lying between the White and Arkansas rivers, bounded on the

east by a line running northeast from Point Remove on the Arkansas

to Shield’s Ferry on White River, and on the west by a parallel line

starting from Table Rock, just above Fort Smith. This reserve was

surrendered in 1825 for seven million acres in Indian Territory. The

main body of the eastern Cherokee were removed to the Territory under a

treaty made in 1835.--ED.

[146] Derdanai, or “Dardonnie,” is said to mean “sleep with one eye.”

The name and the appearance of the rocks suggest the Dardanelles,

whence, it is alleged, the modification of the name to Dardanelle.

The Cherokee agency was located on this site in 1820; but the town

proper dates from the coming, some years later, of white settlers

ejected from Indian lands. The modern town of Dardanelle is the most

important commercial town on the river between Little Rock and Fort

Smith.--ED.

[147] When first encountered by whites in 1560, the Natchez occupied

a considerable tract on the east side of the Mississippi. Their

chief village was near the site of the modern Natchez. According

to their own traditions, they came from the Southwest, and their

customs--worship of the sun, human sacrifices, etc.--indicate

a connection with the Indians of Mexico and Yucatan. The men

were of large stature, few being under six feet. The tribe soon

acquired dissolute habits from the whites, and rapidly dwindled in

numbers. Hostilities with the French began in 1715, and continued

intermittently until 1740. The Choctaw and Chickasaw became involved,

the former as allies of the French, and the latter, incited by the

English, as allies of the Natchez. The final result of the wars was

the extinction of the Natchez as a distinct tribe, although a remnant

long persisted among the Chickasaw and Muskogee; in 1835 this remnant

numbered three hundred souls.

The Chetimachas were a small tribe which dwelt on Lake Grand, in

southern Louisiana.--ED.

[148] Tallantusky (Tollontuskee, Tollunteeskee, Tolontusky,

Talootiske, etc.) was one of the chiefs who signed the treaty of

October 25, 1805, at Tellico, Tennessee. This rewarded Tallantusky

and another chief, Doublehead, by certain secret reservations; and

for this and further abuses of his power Doublehead was afterwards

slain by decree of other chiefs of his tribe. To Tallantusky is

due the establishment of the first mission among the Cherokee of

Arkansas. While visiting the eastern Cherokee in 1818, he met an

officer of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,

and invited him to send missionaries to his people. As the result,

Cephas Washburn and Alfred Finney, accompanied by their families,

established Dwight mission, opposite Dardanelle, in the spring of

1820. The station was named in honor of Timothy Dwight, the president

of Yale College, and a pioneer organizer of the mission board.

Tallantusky’s brother, here mentioned, was Jolly the chief,

referred to in the text a few lines below. See following note.--ED.

[149] John Jolly (Oolooteka), brother of Tallantusky, and his

successor as chief, had removed from the mouth of the Hiawassee,

in Tennessee. There young Samuel Houston, famous later as the

emancipator of Texas, had won his friendship and been adopted as his

son. After the Arkansas Cherokee had removed to Indian Territory,

Houston settled near Jolly (1829), and married his niece, Talihina,

daughter of a half-breed named Rogers. See _post_, note 153.--ED.

[150] Reuben Lewis. See Bradbury’s Travels, volume v of our series,

note 93--ED.

[151] Nancy Ward was born about 1740. Her father was a British

officer, and her mother a sister of the principal chief of the

Cherokee. The Indians believed her to be the inspired mouthpiece of

the Great Spirit, and allowed her a voice in their councils with

the power of deciding the fate of captives. She was friendly to the

whites, and several times saved captives from death. In 1776 she

warned the settlers of the Holston and Watauga rivers of the hostile

plans of her kinsmen, and in 1781 represented her tribe in seeking

peace from the frontiersmen. She is described as tall, erect, and

beautiful, with prominent nose, regular features, clear complexion,

long, silken black hair, large, piercing black eyes, and an imperious

yet kindly air.--ED.

[152] See Long’s _Voyages_, our volume ii, note 31.--ED.

[153] James Rogers signed the treaty of July 8, 1817, as one of the

deputies of the Cherokee on the Arkansas. Whether he is the John

Rogers here referred to does not clearly appear. John Rogers figures

during the difficulties with the Osage, as the person charged with

the task of bringing Osage captives from the Cherokee east of the

Mississippi, not long after Nuttall’s visit. Samuel Houston’s wife,

Talihina, was the daughter of a half-breed named Rogers, quite

possibly the person mentioned in the text.--ED.

[154] John D. Chisholm was one of the deputies who signed the treaty

of July, 1817, on behalf of the Arkansas Cherokee. Whether or not he

was the person guilty of the crime referred to, is uncertain.--ED.

[155] It would be impracticable to give here a full history of the

difficulties between the Cherokee and Osage. They began with the

advent of the first Cherokee bands in Western Arkansas, for the

Osage claimed the land. A treaty of peace between the two tribes

was made at a council held at St. Louis in October, 1818, but it

proved ineffective. In the summer of 1820, Governor James Miller,

of Arkansas Territory, made a second unsuccessful effort to pacify

the tribes. The United States government compelled them to conclude

a treaty of peace in 1822, but petty depredations continued long

after.--ED.