Pass several inconsiderable rivulets, and obtain sight of the
Tomahawk mountain and the Gascon hills--Mulberry creek--that of
Vache Grasse--Lee’s creek--prairies--Sugarloaf mountain--Arrive
at the garrison of Belle Point--a change in the vegetation--The
Maclura or Bow-wood--The garrison--Cedar prairie--Rare plants.
20th.] This morning I left Mr. Webber’s, in a perogue with two
French boatmen, in order to proceed to the garrison, about 120 miles
distant by water. We proceeded nearly to Charbonniere creek,[156]
24 miles from the place of departure. Ten miles from Webber’s we
passed the outlet of Piney creek,[157] so called from the pine-hills
by which it is bordered. Eight miles further we came to Rocky
creek,[158] opposite to the outlet of which, a ledge of rocks nearly
traverses the Arkansa, and presents a considerable obstruction in the
navigation at a low stage of water. The current even at this time
broke with a considerable noise.
21st.] About six miles above Rocky creek we passed the Charbonniere,
so called from the occurrence of coal in its vicinity; we also
observed the outlet of Spadrie creek,[159] on the borders of which
there {138} are considerable tracts of fertile land, well supplied
with springs, and occupied by the Cherokees. The rocks which
occasionally border the river, of very inconsiderable elevation, are
composed of slaty sandstone, dipping about 25°, sometimes towards
the north-west, and at others to the south-east, or in opposite
directions, and also exhibiting indications of coal. The Charbonniere
rock, in particular, about 50 feet high, presents beds of a slaty
sandstone, with a dip of scarcely 20°, and inclined in opposite
directions so as to form a basin, in which there are indications of
coal. A lofty blue ridge appears to the south, called by the French
hunters the Cassetête or Tomahawk mountain,[160] and about eight
miles from hence enters the creek of the same name, beyond which we
proceeded eight miles of a 12 mile bend, making a journey of about 28
miles in the course of the day, and encamped in view of another lofty
ridge of mountains. We saw, as we proceeded, no less than 13 deer
and a bear.
22d.] Four miles from Allmand creek the Cassetête mountain appears
very distinct, and somewhat resembles the Magazine; being a long
ridge abrupt at either end. Another range also was visible at
a considerable distance, called the Gascon hills.[161] We were
detained awhile by a thunder-storm, but proceeded, notwithstanding,
about 30 miles, and encamped on an island just below the outlet of
Mulberry creek,[162] on the banks of which, before the arrival of
the Cherokees, there was a considerable settlement on a body of
excellent land. It now constitutes the Cherokee line of demarkation,
and they made free to occupy the deserted cabins and improvements of
the whites without any compensation received either from them or the
government. The bend, which we continued this morning, of 12 miles
extent, is surrounded on the right hand side with an amphitheatre
of lofty cliffs, 3 to 400 feet high, having a highly romantic and
picturesque {139} appearance. Nearly continuing to Mulberry creek,
a fine stretch of about eight miles opens to view, affording an
ample prospect of the river; its rich alluvions were now clothed in
youthful verdure, and backed in the distance by bluish and empurpled
hills. The beauty of the scenery was also enlivened by the melody of
innumerable birds, and the gentle humming of the wild bees, feeding
on the early blooming willows,[163] which in the same manner line the
picturesque banks of the Ohio. The Arkansa, in its general appearance
throughout this day’s voyage, bears, indeed, a considerable
resemblance to that river. It is equally diversified with islands,
and obstructed in its course by gravelly rapids; two of them which we
passed to-day, could not have a collective fall of less than 10 or 12
feet each.
The sandstone beds still present very little dip, and by contrary
inclinations produce the appearance of basins or circumscribed
vallies.
23d.] Two miles above Mulberry creek we passed two islands nearly
opposite to each other, and a settlement of three or four families
situated along the left bank of the river, on a handsome rising
ground, flanked by a continued ridge of low hills. The dawn of
morning was again ushered in by the songs of thousands of birds,
re-echoing through the woods, and seeking shelter from the extensive
plains, which every where now border the alluvion.
We proceeded about 32 miles, and experienced a scorching sun from
noon till night, when at length the sky became obscured by clouds
portentous of thunder. My thermometer when exposed to the sun rose
to 100°. Nearly opposite Vache Grasse[164] creek we passed a rapid,
over which there is scarcely more than 12 inches water, in the lowest
stage. No hills now appear on either hand, and a little distance in
the prairie, {140} near Vache Grasse, stands the last habitation of
the whites to be met with on the banks of the Arkansa, except those
of the garrison.
Not far from Lee’s creek, Perpillon of the French hunters,[165] a
low ridge again comes up to the border of the river, in which is
discoverable the first calcareous rock on ascending the Arkansa.
From hence also the prairies or grassy plains begin to be prevalent,
and the trees to decrease in number and magnitude. Contiguous to
our encampment commenced a prairie of seven miles in length, and
continuing within a mile of the garrison. The river, now presenting
long and romantic views, was almost exclusively bordered with groves
of cotton-wood, at this season extremely beautiful, resembling so
many vistas clad in the softest and most vivid verdure, and crowded
with innumerable birds, but of species common to the rest of the
United States.
24th.] This morning we passed the hills of Lee’s creek, which for
a short distance border the Arkansa; and about noon arrived at the
garrison,[166] which comes into view at the distance of about four
miles, agreeably terminating a stretch of the river. Rising, as it
were, out of the alluvial forest, is seen from hence, at the distance
of 35 miles, a conic mountain nearly as blue as the sky, and known
by the French hunters under the name of Point de Sucre, or the sugar
loaf.[167]
I met with politeness from major Bradford the commander of the
garrison, but was disagreeably surprised to be given to understand,
that I could not have permission to proceed any higher up the river
without a special credential from the secretary of state, authorizing
me to hold that intercourse with the natives, which I might deem
necessary in further pursuing my journey. It appeared to me, however,
sufficiently obvious, that the governor of the territory must be
{141} empowered to permit an intercourse, civil and commercial, with
the Indians, and liberty to travel through their country by their
concurrence. And, indeed, all difficulty was removed by a reference
to the recent regulations, which empowered the commanders of the
garrisons optionally to permit such intercourse; and I am happy to
add, that this measure, which referred me to the hospitality of the
major, was, apparently, as gratifying to him as to myself.
At the benevolent request of the commander, and agreeably to my
intentions of exploring the natural history of the territory, I
resolved to spend a few weeks at the garrison, and make it the depot
of my collections. It is with a satisfaction, clouded by melancholy,
that I now call to mind the agreeable hours I spent at this station,
while accompanied by the friendly aid and kind participation of
Dr. Russel, whose memory I have faintly endeavoured to commemorate
in the specific name of a beautiful species of _Monarda_.[168] But
relentless death, whose ever-withering hand delights to pluck the
fairest flowers, added, in the fleeting space of a few short days,
another early trophy to his mortal garland; and Russel, the only hope
of a fond and widowed mother, the last of his name and family, now
sleeps obscurely in unhallowed earth! Gentle Reader, forgive this
tribute of sympathy to the recollection of one, whom fully to know
was surely to esteem, as a gentleman, an accomplished scholar, and a
sincere admirer of the simple beauties of the field of nature.
* * * * *
27th.] Yesterday I took a walk of about five miles up the banks of
the Pottoe,[169] and found my labour well repayed by the discovery of
several new or undescribed plants. In this direction the surface of
the ground is gently broken or undulated, and thinly scattered {142}
with trees, resembling almost in this respect a cultivated park. The
whole expanse of forest, hill, and dale, was now richly enamelled
with a profusion of beautiful and curious flowers; among the most
conspicuous was the charming Daisy of America,[170] of a delicate
lilac colour, and altogether corresponding in general aspect with the
European species; intermingled, appears a new species of _Collinsia_,
a large-flowered _Tradescantia_, various species of _Phlox_, the
_Verbena aubletia_, and the esculent _Scilla_. From a low hill,
the neighbouring prairie appeared circumscribed by forests, but the
mountains of the Pottoe were not visible. The soil, even throughout
the uplands, appeared nearly as fertile as the alluvions, and affords
a most productive pasture to the cattle.
On the 28th, a slow rise in the river was perceptible, produced by
the Canadian, or similar branches, and communicating a chocolate-red
colour to the stream.
In the course of the day, I walked over the hills bordering
the Pottoe, about six miles, in order to see some trees of the
yellow-wood (_Maclura_), but they were scarcely yet in leaf, and
showed no indications of producing bloom. Some of them were as much
as 12 inches in diameter, with a crooked and spreading trunk, 50 or
60 feet high. Its wood dies yellow, and scarcely differs from the
Fustick of the West Indies. From appearances, those few insulated
trees of the Pottoe, are on the utmost limit of their northern range,
and, though old and decayed, do not appear to be succeeded by others,
or to produce any perfect fruit. The day was so warm, that at 9
o’clock in the evening, the thermometer still stood at 75°.
The soil, wherever there is the slightest depression, is of a
superior quality, and thickly covered with vegetable earth. The
trees appear scattered as if planted {143} by art, affording an
unobstructed range for the hunter, equal to that of a planted park.
On the 29th, I took an agreeable walk into the adjoining prairie,
which is about two miles wide and seven long. I found it equally
undulated with the surrounding woodland, and could perceive no reason
for the absence of trees, except the annual conflagration. A ridge
of considerable elevation divides it about the centre, from whence
the hills of the Pottoe, the Cavaniol, and the Sugar-loaf, at the
distance of about 30 miles, appear partly enveloped in the mists of
the horizon. Like an immense meadow, the expanse was now covered with
a luxuriant herbage, and beautifully decorated with flowers, amongst
which I was pleased to see the Painted Cup[171] of the eastern
states, accompanied by occasional clusters of a white flowered
_Dodecatheon_ or American primrose. The numerous rounded elevations
which chequer this verdant plain, are so many partial attempts at
shrubby and arborescent vegetation, which nature has repeatedly made,
and which have only been subdued by the reiterated operation of
annual burning, employed by the natives, for the purpose of hunting
with more facility, and of affording a tender pasturage for the game.
_May_ 1st.] The river still continued rising, and also red and turbid
from an admixture of the clay of the salt formation.
* * * * *
The garrison, consisting of two block-houses, and lines of cabins
or barracks for the accommodation of 70 men whom it contains, is
agreeably situated at the junction of the Pottoe, on a rising ground
of about 50 feet elevation, and surrounded by alluvial and uplands
of unusual fertility. The view is more commanding and picturesque,
than any other spot of equal elevation on the banks of the Arkansa.
The meanders of the river to the eastward, backed by the hills {144}
of Lee’s creek, are visible for more than six miles. The basis of
the fort is a dark-coloured slaty micaceous sandstone, the lamina of
which, nearly horizontal, and occasionally traversed by calcareous
illinitions, are about four to six inches in thickness, and denudated
for some hundreds of yards by the washing of the current, which, in
an elevated stage, roars and foams with great velocity. About three
or four miles up the Pottoe, this rock is underlayed by a bituminous
slate-clay, indicative of coal, beneath which, no doubt, would be
found calcareous rock; neither this nor the sandstone, however,
present any organic remains.
3d.] To-day, accompanied by Doctor Russel, and another gentleman of
the fort, I rode to Cedar prairie, lying about 10 miles south-east
of the garrison, and presenting an irregular or undulating surface.
I here found a second species of that interesting plant, which my
venerable friend, William Bartram,[172] called _Ixia cœlestina_;[173]
the flowers of this species are also of a beautiful blue, and white
at the base. The whole plain was, in places, enlivened with the
_Sysirinchium anceps_, producing flowers of an uncommon magnitude;
amidst this assemblage it was not easy to lose sight of the azure
larkspur,[174] whose flowers are of the brightest ultramarine; in the
depressions also grew the ochroleucous _Baptisia_,[175] loaded with
papilionaceous flowers, nearly as large as those of the garden pea.
[Illustration: Cavaniol Mountain]
From this prairie, and more particularly from a hill which partly
traverses it, the mountains of the Pottoe appeared quite distinct,
the Sugar-loaf on the east, and the Cavaniol, about three miles
apart, on the west side of the river; the latter is to all appearance
much the highest, and presents a tabular summit. The extensive and
verdant meadow, in every direction appeared picturesquely bounded
by woody hills of different degrees of elevation and distance,
and lacked {145} nothing but human occupation to reclaim it from
barren solitude, and cast over it the air of rural cheerfulness and
abundance.
7th.] The Pottoe and the Arkansa were now at their utmost elevation,
and their waters of a pale or milky colour, in consequence of being
swelled by the northern streams. The sand-bars and beaches were
entirely submerged, and the river still also continued augmenting on
the 8th.
On the 9th, I again rode out to Cedar prairie, accompanied by the
Doctor, and one of the soldiers, whose intention was to hunt. Several
deer were discovered, but all too shy to be approached. We spent the
night about the centre of the first portion of the prairie, which is
divided into two parts by the intersection of a small wooded rivulet;
and though the evening was mild and delightfully tranquil, the swarms
of musquetoes, augmented since the recent freshet, would not permit
us to sleep.
It is truly remarkable how greatly the sound of objects, becomes
absorbed in these extensive woodless plains. No echo answers the
voice, and its tones die away in boundless and enfeebled undulations.
Even game will sometimes remain undispersed at the report of the gun.
Encamping near a small brook, we were favoured by the usual music of
frogs, and among them heard a species which almost exactly imitated
the lowing of a calf. Just as night commenced, the cheerless howling
of a distant wolf accosted our ears amidst the tranquil solitude,
and the whole night we were serenaded with the vociferations of the
two species of whip-poor-will.
The dawn of a cloudy day, after to us a wakeful night, was ushered
in by the melodious chorus of many thousands of birds, agreeably
dispersing the solemnity of the ambiguous twilight.
Amongst other objects of nature, my attention was momentarily
arrested by the curious appearance of {146} certain conic hillocks,
about three feet high, generally situated in denudated places, and
covered over with minute pebbles; these on closer examination proved
to be the habitations of swarms of large red ants, who entered and
came out by one or two common apertures.
On the wooded margin of the prairie, the doctor and myself were
gratified by the discovery of a very elegant plant, which constitutes
a new genus allied reciprocally to _Phacelia_ and _Hydrophyllum_.[176]
FOOTNOTES:
[156] Charbonniere Creek, in Logan County, flows northward. The
entire north side of the county is underlaid with coal, whence the
stream’s name, as noted by Nuttall; but the principal coal layers of
the region are on the opposite side of the river, in Johnson County,
and underlie nearly 170,000 acres.--ED.
[157] Now called Pine Creek. It flows into the Arkansas from the
north, near the southeastern corner of Johnson County.--ED.
[158] Apparently the modern Shoal Creek, a Logan County tributary of
the Arkansas.--ED.
[159] Spadra Creek flows southward. Its mouth is opposite that of the
Charbonniere, at the village of Spadra.--ED.
[160] Apparently the elevation which is now called Short Mountain,
in Central Logan County. Short Mountain is nearly round, and the
area of its base is about two square miles. It is northwest of
Paris, the county seat. The top is level, and is occupied by farms.
The elevation is locally estimated at five hundred feet above the
neighboring country, or eight hundred feet above sea level. To
the west is Upper Short Mountain; the two are often called Twin
Mountains. Cassetête Creek is now called Short Mountain Creek.--ED.
[161] Allmand Creek and the Gascon hills are not to be identified
from Nuttall’s description.--ED.
[162] Mulberry Creek is the chief northern tributary of the Arkansas
in Franklin County, and the settlements on its banks were probably
the first made by Americans in northwestern Arkansas. In 1814, three
families, named Billingsley, Adams, and Williams, eighteen persons
in all, left middle Tennessee in a flat-boat, and after a year
at Cadron reached the Mulberry in 1816. After the signing of the
treaty which gave the north side of the river to the Cherokee, these
settlers scattered along the south side. In 1818, Simon Miller, with
his son Jesse and others, had settled on the Mulberry. Altogether,
eighteen families are said to have reached the region before the
Cherokee treaty was made. After the removal of the Indians in 1828,
Jesse Miller returned, and other white settlers soon occupied the
region.--ED.
[163] _Salix caroliniana._--NUTTALL.
[164] Vache Grasse Creek drains Central Sebastian County.--ED.
[165] So named after some Frenchmen, and not Papillon, as called by
Pike.--NUTTALL.
_Comment by Ed._ Lee’s Creek is called “river au Millieu” by
Lieutenant Wilkinson, who descended the Arkansas under Pike’s orders in
1807 (see _post_, note 195). The stream crosses and recrosses the line
between Arkansas and Indian Territory, and enters the Arkansas just
below Fort Smith.
[166] The site of Fort Smith, also called Bellepoint, was chosen in
the autumn of 1817 by Major S. H. Long. The original fort was on the
bluff just below the junction of the Poteau and the Arkansas. A new
fort was built on the same spot in 1838, and three hundred acres of
surrounding land was purchased. This reservation was transferred to the
Interior Department in 1871, and by act of Congress (1884) donated to
the city of Fort Smith for school purposes. The troops were withdrawn
from the post in 1871, the government retaining only the original
burying ground, now a national cemetery. Fort Smith controlled the
principal trade of Indian Territory for many years, although the town
grew slowly, containing only about five hundred inhabitants in 1852. It
is now a place of from 12,000 to 15,000.
Information is meagre relative to Major William Bradford, who
commanded at Fort Smith at this time. He was appointed (1812), captain
in the 17th infantry, from Kentucky, and two years later became major.
Then he was transferred to the Rifles, of which he became a major in
1818. From 1821–24 he was again in the infantry, resigning in the
latter year.
Dr. Thomas Russell, mentioned on p. 199, below, was the post
surgeon. A native of Massachusetts, he entered the army in 1814 as
hospital surgeon’s mate, and died August 24, 1819.--ED.
[167] These mountains in southern Sebastian County still bear the
name Sugar Loaf.--ED.
[168] _Monarda russeliana._--NUTTALL.
[169] The Poteau. The word being French for Post, may have been given
to the river by some unhistoric French station.--ED.
[170] _Bellis integrifolia._--NUTTALL.
[171] _Euchroma coccinea_ (_Bartsia coccinea._ LIN.).--NUTTALL.
[172] William Bartram was born in Kingsessing, Pennsylvania, in 1739.
His father was a botanist, and at the age of thirty William abandoned
mercantile life and devoted himself also to that science. His studies
and collections in the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Floridas, were
most extensive. In 1782 he was elected professor of botany in the
University of Pennsylvania, but poor health prevented his acceptance.
He lived, however, until 1823, producing numerous works, and writing
the description of a plant a few minutes before his death, which
came suddenly from hemorrhage of the lungs. See also André Michaux’s
_Travels_, volume iii of our series, note 177.--ED.
[173] _Nemastylis cœlestina._--NUTTALL.
[174] _Delphinium azureum._--NUTTALL.
[175] _Baptisia leucophæa._--NUTTALL.
[176] I have given it the trivial name of _Nemophila_, as, in this
country, it now constituted the prevailing ornament of the shady
woods.--NUTTALL.