Excerpt from a Journey of Travels Into the Arkansas Territory (1819)

Commentary

Thomas Nuttall (1786–1859), author of A Journey of Travels Into the Arkansas Territory, emigrated from England to Philadelphia in 1808. He took up the study of plants and went on to become one of America's foremost botanists; he also was a respected ornithologist and an early expert on paleontology. Between 1809 and 1835, he went on three major expeditions to pursue his scientific interests. On the second (1818–1820), his route took him down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the Arkansas River, and then up the Arkansas into Colorado. The Arkansas River region was relatively unknown at that time and much of this journal describes this particular trip. Most of his observations pertain to the region's plant and animal life, geology, and geography. In this selection, Nuttall is in the present-day state of Arkansas.

Chapter Viii.

Pass several...