It was the last day of the year 1818, when we reached the cave of Winoca, as described in the preceding chapter, on the Ozark summit. An inspection of the country had shown the fact that the mineral developments of its underlying rocks were of a valuable character, while the surface assumed the most pleasing aspect, and the soil, wherever examined, appeared to be of the very richest quality. The bold, rough hunters, who accompanied me, thought of the country only as an attractive game country, which it was a great pity, they said, that the Indians alone should occupy; and they had very little curiosity about anything that did not minister to their immediate wants. They had lived for so long a time by the rifle, that they had a philosophy of the rifle. It was the ready arbiter between themselves, and the animal creation, and the Indians, and even other hunters. Neither the striking agricultural or mineral resources of the country, arrested much attention on their part. And as soon as I was ready to relinquish my examinations at the cave and proceed, they were ready to resume their horses and lead forward. Unfortunately, it was now severely cold, and everything in the heavens prognosticated its increasing severity.
On leaving the Valley of the Cave, and ascending the hills that environed it, we passed over a gently sloping surface of hill and vale, partly covered with forest trees, and partly in prairies. I have seldom seen a more beautiful prospect. The various species of oaks and hickories had strewed the woods with their fruits, on which the bear and wild turkey revelled, while the red deer was scarcely ever out of sight. Long before the hour of encampment had arrived, the hunters had secured the means of our making a sumptuous evening meal on wild viands; and when, at an early hour, we pitched our camp on the borders of a small brook, Holt, who was ever ready with the rifle, added a fat brant from this brook to our stores. We had not travelled more than twelve miles, but we had a sharp wind to face, the day being severe; and nothing was so agreeable, when we halted, as the fire, around which we enjoyed ourselves, as we each displayed our skill in forest cookery. There was cutting, and carving, and roasting, in the true prairie style. We then prepared our couches and night-fires, and slept. At the earliest peep of light, we were again in motion.
The 1st of January, 1819, opened with a degree of cold unusual in these regions. Their elevation is, indeed, considerable; but the wind swept with a cutting force across the open prairies. We were now on the principal north-western source of White river, the channel of which we forded in the distance of two miles. The western banks presented a naked prairie, covered with dry grass and autumnal weeds, with here and there a tree. We pushed on towards the north-east. The prairie-hen, notwithstanding the cold, rose up in flocks before us, as we intruded upon their low-couched positions in the grass. Of these, Holt, whose hunting propensities no cold could restrain, obtained a specimen; he also fired at and killed a wild goose from the channel of the river. On passing about four miles up the western banks of the stream, we observed a lead of lead-ore, glittering through the water in the bed of the river, and determined to encamp at this spot, for the purpose of investigating the mineral appearances. The weather was piercingly cold. We found some old Indian camps near at hand,and procured from them pieces of bark to sheath a few poles and stakes, hastily put up, to form a shelter from the wind. A fire was soon kindled, and, while we cooked and partook of a forest breakfast, we recounted the incidents of the morning, not omitting the untoward state of the weather. When the labor of building the shanty was completed, I hastened to explore the geological indications of the vicinity.
The ore which had attracted our notice in the bed of the stream, existed in lumps, which presented bright surfaces where the force of the current had impelled its loose stony materials over them. It was a pure sulphuret of lead, breaking in cubical lines. I also observed some pieces of hornblende. It was not easy to determine the original width of the bed of ore. Its course is across the stream, into the banks of red marly clay on which we had encamped. Its geological position is in every respect similar to the metalliferous deposits at Potosi, except that there were no spars, calcareous or barytic, in sight. I gathered, in a few minutes, a sufficient number of specimens of the ore for examination, and employed myself in erecting, on the banks of the river, a small furnace, of the kind called "log-furnace" in Missouri, to test its fusibility. In the mean time, my New England companion took a survey of the surrounding country, which he pronounced one of the most fertile, and admirably adapted to every purpose of agriculture. Much of the land consists of prairie, into which the plough can be immediately put. The forests and groves, which are interspersed with a park-like beauty through these prairies, consist of various species of oaks, maple, white and black walnut, elm, mulberry, hackberry, and sycamore.
Holt and Fisher scanned the country for game, and returned to camp with six turkeys and a wolf. Their fear of the Osages had been only apparently subdued. They had been constantly on the look-out for signs of Indian enemies, and had their minds always filled with notions of hovering Osages and Pawnees. The day was wintry, and the weather variable. It commenced snowing at daylight, and continued till about eight o'clock, A. M. It then became clear, and remained so, with occasional flickerings, until two o'clock, when a fixedsnowstorm sat in, and drove me from my little unfinished furnace, bringing in the hunters also from the prairies, and confining us strictly to our camp. This storm continued, without mitigation, nearly all night.
Jan. 3d. The snow ceased before sunrise, leaving the country wrapped in a white mantle. The morning was cold; the river began to freeze about nine o'clock, and continued till it was closed. The weather afforded an opportunity for continuing the explorations and examinations commenced yesterday. I found that the red clay afforded a good material for laying the stones of my lead-furnace, and continued working at it for a part of the day. The hunters came in with the carcases of two deer, and the skin of a black wolf. Except in its color, I could not distinguish any permanent characteristics in the latter differing from the large grey wolf, or coyote. Its claws, snout, and ears, were the same—its tail, perhaps, a little more bushy. The size of this animal, judging from the skin, must have been double that of the little prairie-wolf, ormyeengunof the Indians of the North.
I found the bed of the stream, where it permitted examination, to be non-crystalline limestone, in horizontal beds, corresponding to the formation observed in the cave of Winoca. Its mineral constituents were much the same. The country is one that must be valuable hereafter for its fertility and resources. The prairies which extend west of the river are the most extensive, rich, and beautiful, of any which I have yet seen west of the Mississippi. They are covered with a most vigorous growth of grass. The deer and elk abound in this quarter, and the buffalo is yet occasionally seen. The soil in the river valley is a rich black alluvion. The trees are often of an immense height, denoting strength of soil. It will probably be found adapted to corn, flax, hemp, wheat, oats, and potatoes; while its mining resources must come in as one of the elements of its future prosperity.
I planted some peach-stones in a fertile spot near our camp, where the growth of the sumac denoted unusual fertility. And it is worthy of remark that even Holt, who had the antipathyof an Indian to agriculture, actually cut some bushes in a certain spot, near a spring, and piled them into a heap, by way of securing a pre-emption right to the soil.
The region of the Ozark range of mountain development is one of singular features, and no small attractions. It exhibits a vast and elevated tract of horizontal and sedimentary strata, extending for hundreds of miles north and south. This range is broken up into high cliffs, often wonderful to behold, which form the enclosing walls of river valleys. The Arkansas itself forces its way through, about the centre of the range. The Washita marks its southern boundary. The St. Francis and the Maramec, at the mouth of the former of which De Soto landed, constitute its northern limits. The junction of the Missouri with the Mississippi may be said to be its extreme northern development. The Missouri, from the influx of the Osage, is pushed northward by the Ozark range. It rests, on the south, upon the primitive granites, slates, and quartz rock, of Washita. The celebrated Hot Springs issue from it. The long-noted mines of Missouri, which once set opinion in France in a blaze, extend from its north-eastern flanks. The primitive sienites and hornblende rock of the sources of the St. Francis and Grand rivers, support it. The Unica or White river, the Strawberry, Spring river, Currents and Black rivers, descend from it, and join the Mississippi. The Great and Little Osage, and the Gasconade, flow into the Missouri. The great plains, and sand-desert, which stretches at the eastern foot of the Rocky mountains, lie west of it. It is not less than two hundred miles in breadth. No part of the central regions of the Mississippi valley exhibits such a variety in its geological constituents, or such a striking mineralogical development. Its bodies of the ore of iron called iron-glance, are unparalleled. These are particularly developed in the locality called Iron Mountain, or the sources of the St. Francis. Its ores of lead, zinc, antimony, and manganese, are remarkable. Its limestones abound in caves yielding nitre. Salt and gypsum are found in the plains on its western borders. Its large blocks of quartz rock, which are found north of the Arkansas river, particularly scattered over the formations crossing the LittleRed, Buffalo, and White rivers, about the Buffalo shoals, furnish indications of the diluvial gold deposit, which would justify future examination.
Through these alpine ranges De Soto roved, with his chivalrous and untiring army, making an outward and inward expedition into regions which must have presented unwonted hardships and discouragements to the march of troops. To add to these natural obstacles, he found himself opposed by fierce savage tribes, who rushed upon him from every glen and defile, and met him in the open grounds with the most savage energy. His own health finally sank under these fatigues; and it is certain that, after his death, his successor in the command, Moscoso, once more marched entirely through the southern Ozarks, and reached the buffalo plains beyond them. Such energy and feats of daring had never before been displayed in North America; and the wonder is at its highest, after beholding the wild and rough mountains, cliffs, glens, and torrents, over which the actual marches must have laid.
Some of the names of the Indian tribes encountered by him, furnish conclusive evidence that the principal tribes of the country, although they have changed their particular locations since the year 1542, still occupy the region. Thus, the Kapahas, who then lived on the Mississippi, above the St. Francis, are identical with the Quappas, the Cayas with the Kanzas, and the Quipana with the Pawnees.
SEVERE WINTER WEATHER ON THE SUMMIT OF THE OZARKS—FALSE ALARM OF INDIANS—DANGER OF MY FURNACE, ETC., BEING HEREAFTER TAKEN FOR ANTIQUITIES—PROCEED SOUTH—ANIMAL TRACKS IN THE SNOW—WINOCA OR SPIRIT VALLEY—HONEY AND THE HONEY-BEE—BUFFALO-BULL CREEK—ROBE OF SNOW—MEHAUSCA VALLEY—SUPERSTITIOUS EXPERIMENT OF THE HUNTERS—ARRIVE AT BEAVER CREEK.
SEVERE WINTER WEATHER ON THE SUMMIT OF THE OZARKS—FALSE ALARM OF INDIANS—DANGER OF MY FURNACE, ETC., BEING HEREAFTER TAKEN FOR ANTIQUITIES—PROCEED SOUTH—ANIMAL TRACKS IN THE SNOW—WINOCA OR SPIRIT VALLEY—HONEY AND THE HONEY-BEE—BUFFALO-BULL CREEK—ROBE OF SNOW—MEHAUSCA VALLEY—SUPERSTITIOUS EXPERIMENT OF THE HUNTERS—ARRIVE AT BEAVER CREEK.
The indications of severe weather, noticed during the last day of December, and the beginning of January, were not deceptive; every day served to realize them. We had no thermometer; but our feelings denoted an intense degree of cold. The winds were fierce and sharp, and snow fell during a part of each day and night that we remained on these elevations. We wrapped our garments closely about us at night, in front of large fires, and ran alternately the risk of being frozen and burnt. One night my overcoat was in a blaze from lying too near the fire. This severity served to increase the labor of our examinations; but it did not, that I am aware, prevent anything essential.
On the fourth day of my sojourn here, a snowstorm began, a little before one o'clock in the morning; it ceased, or, as the local phrase is, "held up," at daybreak. The ground was now covered, to a depth of from two to three inches, with a white mantle. Such severity had never been known by the hunters. The winds whistled over the bleak prairies with a rigor which would have been remarkable in high northern latitudes. The river froze entirely over. The sun, however, shone out clearly as the day advanced, and enabled me to complete myexaminations, as fully as it was practicable to do, under the existing state of the weather.
It happened, on this day, that my companion had walked a mile or two west, over the smooth prairie, to get a better view of the conformation of the land, returning to camp before the hunters, who had also gone in the same general direction. On their coming back, one of them, whose head was always full of hostile Osages, fell on his returning track in the snow, and carefully traced it to our camp. He came in breathless, and declared that the Osages were upon us, and that not a moment was to be lost in breaking up our camp, and flying to a place of security. When informed of the origin of the tracks, he still seemed incredulous, and could not be pacified without some difficulty. We then prepared, by collecting fuel, and increasing our bark defences against the wind and snow, to pass another night at the camp.
I had now followed the Ozarks as far as it seemed practicable, and reached their western summit, notwithstanding every discouragement thrown in my way by the reports of the hunters, from the first moment of my striking the White river; having visited the source of nearly every river which flows from it, both into the Missouri and the Mississippi. I had fully satisfied myself of its physical character and resources, and now determined to return to the camps of my guides at Beaver creek, and continue the exploration south.
It was the 5th of January, 1819, when we prepared our last meal at that camp, and I carefully put up my packages in such portable shape as might be necessary. Some time was spent in looking up the horses, which had been turned into a neighboring canebrake. The interval was employed in cutting our names, with the date of our visit, on a contiguous oak, which had been previously blazed for the purpose. These evidences of our visit were left, with the pit dug in search of ore, and the small smelting-furnace, which, it is hoped, no zealous antiquarian will hereafter mistake for monuments of an elder period of civilization in the Mississippi valley. When this was accomplished, and the horses brought up, we set out with alacrity. The snow still formed a thin covering on the ground,and, being a little softened by the sun, the whole surface of the country exhibited a singular map of the tracks of quadrupeds and birds. In these, deer, elk, bears, wolves, and turkeys, were prominent—the first and last species, conspicuously so. In some places, the dry spots on the leaves showed where the deer had lain during the storm. These resting-spots were uniformly on declivities, which sheltered the animal from the force of the wind. Frequently we crossed wolf-trails in the snow, and, in one or two instances, observed places where they had played or fought with each other, like a pack of dogs—the snow being tramped down in a circle of great extent. We also passed tracts of many acres, where the turkeys had scratched up the snow, in search of acorns. We frequently saw the deer fly before us, in droves of twenty or thirty. They will bound twenty feet at a leap, as measured, on a gentle declivity. This animal is impelled by a fatal curiosity to stop and turn round to look at the cause of its disturbance, after running a distance. It is at this moment that the hunter generally fires.
About noon, we reached and crossed Findley's Fork, or the Winoca valley—the locality of the cave. Two miles south of it, in ascending an elevation, our ears were saluted by a murmuring sound in the air, which the hunters declared to be single bees, flying in a line. I observed one of them directing its flight to the top of a large oak, which was thus indicated as the repository of their honey. My companion and myself proceeded to chop it down, while the hunters stood by. It was of the white-oak species, and was judged to be two feet and a half across. When it fell, a hollow limb was fractured, disclosing a large deposit of most beautiful white honeycombs. We ate without stint, sometimes dipping cooked pieces of venison (we had no bread) in the fluid part. The remainder was then wrapped up in a freshly flayed deerskin, and firmly tied, to be carried to the hunters' cabins at Beaver creek on one of the horses.
We now resumed our route. As evening approached, we entered the head of a valley formed out of the plain, toward our right. It turned out to be a stream known to them, intheir buffalo hunts, as Bull creek. Here we encamped, having travelled about twenty miles. The weather continued moderately cold during the day, the sun not having attained sufficient power to melt the snow. A single deer was the trophy of this day's hunt.
Morning found us, as we arose from our couches, in a small, brushy, and tangled valley, through which it was not easy to make our way. The weather was raw, cold, and lowering, and the hunters did not seem inclined to make an early start. It was determined to replenish our fire, and breakfast, first. It was a rough region, and cost some exertion and fatigue to get out of its tangled defiles, and ascend the plains south of it. These impediments consumed so much time, that we made but slow progress. The atmosphere was so obscure, that it was difficult to determine the proper course; and it was evident that the guides did not know exactly where they were. At length they entered one of the lateral valleys of Swan creek, the Mehausca of the Osages. In this, after following it down some distance, we encamped. The atmosphere was clouded up, and betokened falling weather.
The next morning, (Jan. 7th), when I awoke, I felt an extra pressure of something on my blanket, which had the effect to keep off the wind, and produce warmth; and on opening its folds, I threw off a stratum of an inch or two of snow. We had been fatigued by the day's march, and slept soundly.
Some eight miles' travel brought us to the junction of this little tributary with the Mehausca, where our guides, by recognizing known objects, reassured themselves of their true position. It was, however, still hazy and obscure, and doubts soon again arose in their minds as to the proper course. After travelling some miles in this perplexity, they were at length relieved by observing a known landmark in the peak of Bald hill. This mark was, however, soon lost sight of, and, the atmosphere still continuing overclouded, dark, and hazy, they speedily became again bewildered. I was surprised at this; it denoted a want of precision of observation, which an Indian certainly could not have been charged with. He is able, in the worst weather, to distinguish thenorthfrom thesouthfaceof a mature and weathered tree—a species of knowledge, of the utmost consequence to him in his forest wanderings.
An experiment, of letting a certain horse take his course homeward, by throwing the reins upon his neck, was adopted by our guides; but after trying it for some time, it was found necessary to give it up. It was clear that the animal was going directly from home; and Fisher, who believed in bewitched guns, was obliged to yield the point. Not long after resuming the reins, Holt announced, in the dense atmosphere which enveloped us, that we were ascending the valley hills that border the main channel of White river. As soon as this was verified, and we had reached the highest point, the guides both fired their rifles, to advertise their families, on the bottom-lands below, of their approach; and we were soon welcomed, at the hunters' cabins at the mouth of Beaver creek, "by dogs, women, and children, all greasy and glad."
During this trip, I had listened to frequent recitals of the details of hunting the bear, beaver, deer, and other animals, the quality of dogs, the secret of baits, &c.—a species of forest lectures, the details of which, at the moment, were new to me, and had the charm of novelty, and the merit of information; but which it is unimportant, at this length of time, to repeat.[10]
[10]Vide Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansas. London, 1821.
[10]Vide Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansas. London, 1821.
DESCEND WHITE RIVER IN A CANOE—ITS PURE WATER, CHARACTER, AND SCENERY—PLACES OF STOPPING—BEAR CREEK—SUGAR-LOAF PRAIRIE—BIG CREEK—A RIVER PEDLAR—POT SHOALS—MOUTH OF LITTLE NORTH FORK—DESCEND FORMIDABLE RAPIDS, CALLED THE BULL SHOALS—STRANDED ON ROCKS—A PATRIARCH PIONEER—MINERALOGY—ANTIQUE POTTERY AND BONES—SOME TRACE OF DE SOTO—A TRIP BY LAND—REACH THE MOUTH OF THE GREAT NORTH FORK.
DESCEND WHITE RIVER IN A CANOE—ITS PURE WATER, CHARACTER, AND SCENERY—PLACES OF STOPPING—BEAR CREEK—SUGAR-LOAF PRAIRIE—BIG CREEK—A RIVER PEDLAR—POT SHOALS—MOUTH OF LITTLE NORTH FORK—DESCEND FORMIDABLE RAPIDS, CALLED THE BULL SHOALS—STRANDED ON ROCKS—A PATRIARCH PIONEER—MINERALOGY—ANTIQUE POTTERY AND BONES—SOME TRACE OF DE SOTO—A TRIP BY LAND—REACH THE MOUTH OF THE GREAT NORTH FORK.
I determined to descend the river from the hunters' cabins at Beaver creek, being the highest location to which a pioneer hunting population had pushed, and with this view purchased a large and new canoe, of about twenty feet in length, from the enterprising hunters. Putting into this such articles from our former packs as were deemed necessary, and some provisions, I took the bow, with a long and smooth pole to guide it in rapids and shoals, and gave the stern to my companion, with a steering-paddle. It was now the 9th of January. Bidding adieu to our rough, but kind and friendly guides, we pushed into the stream, and found ourselves floating, with little exertion, at the rate of from three to four miles per hour. The very change from traversing weary plains and prairies, and ascending steep cliffs, was exhilarating and delightful.
White river is one of the most beautiful and enchanting streams, and by far the most transparent, which discharge their waters into the Mississippi. To a width and depth which entitle it to be classed as a river of the third magnitude in Western America, it unites a current which possesses the purity of crystal, with a smooth and gentle flow, and the most imposing, diversified, and delightful scenery. Objects can be clearlyseen in it, through the water, at the greatest depths. Every pebble, rock, fish, or shell, even the minutest body which occupies the bottom of the stream, is seen with the most perfect distinctness; and the canoe, when looking under it, seemed, from the remarkable transparency of the water, to be suspended in air. The Indians, observing this peculiarity, called it Unica, which is the transitive form ofwhite. The French of Louisiana merely translated this term tola riviere au Blanc. It is, in fact, composed of tributaries which gush up in large crystal springs out of the Ozark range of mountains, and it does not receive a discoloured tributary in all its upper course. These gigantic springs, which are themselves a curiosity, originate in the calcareous or sandstone strata of that remarkable chain, and are overlaid by a heavy oceanic deposit of limestone, quartz, hornstone, and chert pebbles, which serve as a filtering-bed to the upspringing waters. Sometimes these pebbles are found to be jasper, of a beautiful quality.
The scenery of its shores is also peculiar. Most frequently the limestone, which has been subjected to the destructive power of the elements, is worn into pinnacles of curious spiral shapes. Where the river washes the base of these formations, a high and precipitous wall of rock casts its shadow over the water. On the shores opposite to such precipices, there is invariably a rich diluvial plain, covered by a vigorous forest of trees, clothed in all the graceful luxuriance of a summer foliage.
If the shores be examined to any distance inland, the calcareous rock is found to exhibit frequent caverns, where the percolation of the waters has produced stalactites of beautiful forms, or the concretions are spread upon the floors of these caves in curious masses.
Often, upon the shores, we observed the graceful doe. At early hours in the morning, the wild turkeys appeared in large flocks, with their plumage glistening in the light. The duck, goose, and brant, often rose up before us, and lighted in the stream again below us; and we thus drove them, without intending it, for miles. Sometimes, perched on some high pinnacle or towering tree, the eagle, hawk, or heron, surveyedour descent, as if it were an intrusion upon their long undisturbed domain.
A few miles below our point of embarkation, we passed, on the left shore, a precipitous wall of calcareous rock, on the summit of which I observed the location of the cavern, into the mouth of which I descended some twenty or thirty feet, on my outward journey; and it now seemed probable that the ramifications which I saw by the dim light admitted, were of an extensive character.
As the shades of night overtook us, a hunter's cabin was descried on the left shore, where a landing was made. It proved to be occupied by a person of the name of Yochem, who readily gave us permission to remain for the night. He told us we had descended thirty miles. He regaled us hospitably with wild viands, and, among other meats, the beaver's tail—a dish for epicures.
Resuming the descent at an early hour, a couple of miles brought us to the inlet of Bear creek—a stream coming in on the right side, which is described as long, narrow, and crooked. Nothing denoted that man had ever made his residence along this part of the stream. We floated on charmingly. At every turn, some novel combination of scenery presented itself. As evening drew near, a hunter's cabin appeared on our right, and, a couple of miles further, another on our left, near one of those natural monuments of denudation common to the limestone of this river, which is called the Sugar-loaf. We stopped for the night at this habitation, and found it to be occupied by a Mr. Coker. The old man received us with the usual frank and friendly air and manner of a hunter. More than fifty years must have marked his frontier pilgrimage on its constantly shifting boundary. He stood some six feet three in height, was erect and thin, and looked like one of the patriarchs of the woods, who, cherishing his personal independence and his rifle, had ever relied upon his own arm for a support, and distrusted nothing on earth half so much as Indians. In his view, the Osages were the perfection of robbers; and he congratulated us on getting out of their country with our scalps safely on our heads, and our "plunder" (a common word herefor baggage) untouched. It appeared from his estimates that we had descended the river twenty-five miles.
Rain fell copiously during the night; but it ceased before daylight (11th), by the earliest gleams of which we were again in motion, descending the pellucid river. At the computed distance of sixteen miles, we passed the mouth of Big river, a considerable stream on the left banks, where I halted a few moments to see a new location which had just been commenced. A small clearing had been made in the dense canebrake, and a log house commenced. Shortly below this spot, we encountered a river pedlar, ascending the stream with his commodities in a canoe. On conversing with him, I found his knowledge of affairs very local and partial. Of the outer world, and of its news, he knew nothing.
At every stage of our progress, the river was increasing in its volume; and, soon after this occurrence, we observed its velocity accelerated, and almost imperceptibly found ourselves gliding rapidly over the Pot Shoals. This rapid appeared less formidable than had been anticipated. I rose up to observe the draught of the current, and, by a few strokes of the pole, kept the canoe in the force of the stream. About seven miles below these shoals, and just as evening closed in, a house appeared on the left shore. It proved to be M'Garey's, at whose domicile we had originally struck on crossing the wilderness from Potosi. He was glad to hail our return from a region, against the Indian occupants of which, he had decidedly warned us on our outward trip, but from whom we had fortunately received no injury. He informed us that we had this day descended the river forty miles, that being the received distance to Sugar-loaf Prairie.
We were indeed cordially received as old acquaintances, and congratulated on our perseverance in visiting a region where Indian hostility was so much to be dreaded. On learning that the Osages had retired west, and that the country abounded in game, one of the sons of our host prepared to push into that region. M'Garey told us that he had delivered "Butcher," agreeably to our order, to Holt; but the latter, on travelling a day's journey toward Beaver creek, had found him too feebleto proceed, and, after taking off his shoes, had abandoned him to the wolves. Sad emblem of the fate of persons who have served great men, till they have reached some pinnacle where the service is forgotten, because no longer necessary!
Nearly opposite, but a little below this cabin, we passed, on the 12th, the mouth of the Little North Fork; a stream originating in a broken region on the left bank, and having some alluvions at its mouth. Evidences of habitation became more frequent below the Little North Fork, which caused me to cease noting their succession in my journal.
Nothing of special interest occurred to mark the day's progress, till we reached, at an advanced hour in the afternoon, the Bull shoals. At this formidable rapid, the river probably sinks its level fifteen or twenty feet in the space of half a mile. Masses of limestone rock stand up in the bed of the river, and create several channels. Between these the river foams and roars. When I arose in the canoe to take a view of the rapid into which we were about to plunge, the bed of the stream appeared to be a perfect sheet of foam, whirling and rushing with great force and tumult. As I knew not the proper channel, and it was too late to withdraw, the only step left was to keep the canoe headed, and down we went most rapidly. Very soon the canoe leaped on a round rock, driving on it with great force, and veered about crosswise. In an instant I jumped into the water at the bows, while my companion did the same at the stern, and, by main force, we lifted it over the ledge, got in quickly, and again headed it properly. We were, emphatically, in the midst of roaring rapids; their very noise was deafening. The canoe had probably got down six hundred yards, when a similar difficulty occurred, at the head of a second shute or bench of rocks, reaching across the river. In an instant, it again struck. It was obviated by getting into the water, in the same way as on the first occasion; only, however, to put our strength and skill to the test a third time, after which we shot down to the foot of the rapids safely. We had managed neither to ship water, nor to lose a piece of baggage. We were, however, thoroughly wetted, but kept our position in the canoe for five miles below the rapid,bringing us to the head of Friend's settlement. We landed, at a rather early hour in the evening, at a log building on the left shore, where we were hospitably received by Teen Friend, a man of mature age and stately air, the patriarch of the settlement. It was of him that we had heard stories of Osage captivity and cruelty, having visited one of the very valleys where he was kept in "durance vile."
The antiquities and mineral appearances in that vicinity were represented as worthy of examination; in consequence of which, I devoted a part of the next day (13th) to these objects. The neighboring hills consist of stratified limestone. The surface of the soil exhibits some fragments of hornstone and radiated quartz, with indications of iron-ore. At the shoals, traces of galena and calcareous spar occur.
Mr. Friend, being familiar from personal observation with the geography and resources of the country at large, states that rock-salt is found between the south fork of White river and the Arkansas, where the Pawnees and Osages make use of it. It is presumed that this salt consists of crystalline masses from the evaporation of saline water. He represents the lead-ores on its north-western source, which we had partially explored, as very extensive.
If, as is probable, De Soto ranged over these regions in his extensive marches between the St. Francis and Arkansas, his exploratory parties may have reached the locality of crystalline salt referred to, and he would have found the buffalo in several positions east of that place.
The antiquarian objects to which my attention was called, afforded the greatest degree of interest. They consisted of pieces of earthenware, some antique fragments of bone, and a metallic alloy, resting in a substance resembling ashes, and also arrow-heads. The metallic alloy, of which Mr. F. gave me a specimen, resembles a combination of lead and tin. But what adds to the interest attending the discovery of these articles, is the fact, that they lie, apparently, below the diluvial deposits, bearing a heavy forest, and at the geological line of intersection with the consolidated rocks.
From the apparent vestiges in this quarter, I am of opinionthat De Soto's "Tanico" must be located in this vicinity, and that he crossed the White river near this place. A march west of this point, over a hilly country, would bring him into the fertile valley of the Little Red river, or Buffalo creek—his probable Tula, where his people first tasted the flesh of this animal, and where he recruited his army for a new effort.
These inquiries occupied the morning. It was late before we embarked, and, at some four miles below, we landed on the right shore, at a Mr. Zadock Lee's, being the first New Englander whom we had met in this region. With him we took dinner. He appeared pleased to see us, and conducted me to see some antique, white, lime-like masses, in the earth, near the bank of the river, which had the appearance of decayed bones. Rumor speaks of some other antiquities in this quarter of the country, in the shape of bricks, concealed by the undisturbed soil; but I saw nothing of this kind. While here, Mr. Lee's son returned from the forest with the flesh of the bear and buffalo, the fruits of his own prowess in the chase, and amused us with an account of his recent exhibition of skill in these departments. We embarked and descended the river six miles, to a Mr. Jacob Yochem's, who received us with hospitality, and added no little, by his conversation, to our local lore.
It was determined, the next morning, (14th,) to loan our canoe, which was a capacious, new, and clean vessel, made from white-ash, to our host, to enable him to transport his hunter products to a market at the mouth of the Great North Fork, leaving our baggage to be brought that way. The distance by water is thirty-five miles; by land, probably not more than eighteen or twenty. By this step, we avoided the dangers of navigating two formidable rapids, called the Crooked Creek and Buffalo Shoals; the former situated fifteen, and the latter twenty miles below Yochem's.
We left our host's at a seasonable hour in the morning, taking a good horse-path; and we walked diligently till near dusk, before reaching our destination. We then had the whole volume of White river between us and our purposed place of lodgment, which was at the residence of a man namedMatney. It was the only house within a considerable distance at which shelter for the night could be obtained; and we did not hesitate long between the two alternatives presented to us—either of lying out in the woods all night, or of fording the river, with the depth of which we were not acquainted. We chose the latter, and accordingly prepared for the attempt. At the shallowest part we could find, it was about four feet deep in the channel; but we struggled through, and reached the house just at nightfall, wet and chilly. We were hospitably received, and speedily made ourselves comfortable. We had been told that the distance was fifteen miles; but to us, who had diligently footed it, it seemed more than twenty.
DETENTION AT THE MOUTH OF THE GREAT NORTH FORK—NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VICINITY—GREAT BLOCKS OF QUARTZ—IMPOSING PRECIPICES OF THE CALICO ROCK—A CHARACTERISTIC OF AMERICAN SCENERY—CHEROKEE OCCUPANCY OF THE COUNTRY BETWEEN THE WHITE AND ARKANSAS RIVERS—ITS EFFECTS ON THE PIONEERS—QUESTION OF THE FATE OF THE INDIAN RACES—IRON-ORE—DESCENT TO THE ARKANSAS FERRIES—LEAVE THE RIVER AT THIS POINT—REMARKS ON ITS CHARACTER AND PRODUCTIONS.
DETENTION AT THE MOUTH OF THE GREAT NORTH FORK—NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VICINITY—GREAT BLOCKS OF QUARTZ—IMPOSING PRECIPICES OF THE CALICO ROCK—A CHARACTERISTIC OF AMERICAN SCENERY—CHEROKEE OCCUPANCY OF THE COUNTRY BETWEEN THE WHITE AND ARKANSAS RIVERS—ITS EFFECTS ON THE PIONEERS—QUESTION OF THE FATE OF THE INDIAN RACES—IRON-ORE—DESCENT TO THE ARKANSAS FERRIES—LEAVE THE RIVER AT THIS POINT—REMARKS ON ITS CHARACTER AND PRODUCTIONS.
The canoe had not yet arrived, nor was there any tidings of it the next morning; so that there was no alternative, in our present situation, but to wait patiently. I determined to improve the delay by exploring the neighborhood. It is a geographical point of some importance, being the head of the navigation of White river for all large craft ascending from the Mississippi. As yet, nothing but keel-boats have ascended. Between the point of our embarkation at Beaver creek and this spot, the river has a fall of about sixty feet, at four rapids, which do not probably extend over a mile or two in the aggregate. The stream, during the rest of the way, has a fine, lively current, seldom of great velocity, and never stagnates. The Great North Fork, the scene of our former ramblings, enters a short distance below the foot of the Buffalo Shoals, rendering the draught of water practicable, it is believed, for steamboats at all seasons.
I found the pebble-stones and boulders on the margin and bed of the river, which I leisurely examined, to afford a true representation of the formations which had been observed in traversing the elevated and broken surface of the Ozarks.They consist of the various limestones and sandstones of the region, with a partial mixture of quartz rock, red sienite, hornstone, argillaceous rock, and the peculiar, egg-shaped, coarse yellow jasper, which appears to have been imbedded in some of its strata. On ascending the cliffs west of the valley, they were observed to consist of the characteristic limestone of the region, in horizontal layers, the upper strata containing impressions of shells. Very large angular masses of quartz rock lie near the bases of these cliffs. Some of the angles of these masses would probably measure fourteen feet. Their position here appears to be quite anomalous, as, from the absence of attrition, they are clearly not of the erratic block group. They appear to indicate a primitive formation near.
The half hunter, half farmer, to whom we had loaned our canoe, came with a number of his companions in the evening, and entered on a scene of merriment, to which, as the cabin had but one room, we were compelled to be unwilling spectators during the livelong night, though, from its character, not participating at all therein. As soon as there was light sufficient to discern objects (16th), we embarked, rejoiced to get clear of this extraordinary nocturnal scene. About half a mile below, we passed the mouth of the Great North Fork, and, some five or six miles further, entered and descended a swift channel, called the Crooked rapids, where there probably has been some slight geological disturbance in the bed of the river, observable in very low stages of water.
At the distance of ten miles more, a sudden turn of the river brought us in full sight of the picturesque, elevated, and precipitous shore, called the Calico Rock. This presents a most imposing façade, on which are observable the imitative forms of fantastic architectural devices. The wall is quite precipitous throughout. It is the calcareous rock of the region. Its summit is overlaid with ochreous clays of various colors, which, through the action of the elements, have imparted their fanciful hues to portions of the cliff. This abrupt species of scenery is quite peculiar to the American landscape. A still more imposing section of it is presented in the Pictured Rocks of Lake Superior. Nothing of this kind marks the banks ofthe Rhine, so much eulogized by travellers; for all its formations partake of the parabolic, or curved lines of the primitive, and the eye is relieved by these gradations; but, in the brusque scenes of the West, the precipices are as marked as if they had been hewn down by some gigantic broad-axe. There are some sections, in keeping with these harsh landscapes, on the Mississippi, along the Missouri shores—less prominently along the Illinois borders, near Alton—and at places in Iowa and Wisconsin; but more characteristic in Minnesota, as the river escapes from its primitive plains, and plunges over the falls of St. Anthony. We descended about thirty miles this day, and found lodgment, at night, at a house on the left bank, occupied by a Mr. Jeffery.
The next morning (17th), on descending five miles, we stopped at a Mr. Williams's to prepare breakfast, where some persons were gathering to hear an itinerant preacher. Twenty miles lower, we stopped for the night, at a widow Lafferty's.
From the remarks made at the places where we have been entertained by the hunters and settlers on this river, there is considerable dissatisfaction with a treaty[11]made with the Cherokee Indians, by which a part of that nation are assigned a location between the north banks of the Arkansas and the south bank of White river. Many of them, including our hostess to-night, and the M'Gareys, Lees, and Matneys above, have lands in cultivation, with dwelling-houses, stock, and improvements, of more or less value, on the south banks of the river; which, as they apprehend, under the operation of this treaty, they are to relinquish to the Cherokees.
The truth is, the first white occupants of the frontiers, though generally rough men, and without a title to the lands they settle on, are the pioneers of civilization; and by thus taking their lives in their hands, and encountering the perils of the wilderness and of Indian hostility, they lay the government under a strong obligation to protect them. The natural hatred of races is such, that they are everlastingly on ill termswith the Indians, and the Indians with them. It is difficult to say which of the two races, during this period of contact, is most suspicious of the other.
The Indians, also, look up to the government with strong claims for justice and protection. The frontier, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, was on and near the Atlantic borders, from Maine to Georgia, and long continued east of the Alleghany mountains. It is already west of the Mississippi river, that mighty geographical highway, which, like a longitudinal line, stretches across seventeen degrees of latitude, every mile of which will, ere long, be settled and cultivated by the Anglo-American race. As the population presses first on the Indian's hunting-grounds, and next on his cornfields, he flies before the irresistible tide, and takes shelter at some more remote western point. But he is hardly well seated on his new hunting-grounds—he has hardly begun to reap his new cornfields—when the pioneers of the same race that disturbed him before, are upon him; and again, and again he must fly before the resistless—the uncontrollable tide of migration. It is a providential reflux in the wave of races. It is something to be observed, rather than to be apprehended and understood. It seems to say, that the surface of the habitable earth was not formed for the permanent occupancy of races who rely on the pleasing and exciting uses of the bow and arrow; and that labor, which was, at the first, declared to be the proper condition of man, is destined to sweep away, if it cannot merge in its on-rush, these erratic and picturesque tribes. Where their frontiers will be found, a hundred years hence, the voice of history, looking to the past, may only tell; but this appears more appreciable and clear—that the perpetuation of the race as one of the elements of mankind, must depend, in the sequel, however long that sequel be postponed, on his substantial adoption of the principles of industry, letters, and Christianity. The "tents of Shem," however we may read the prediction, are still to be occupied, if they are not now, by a broad philanthropy, to be merged into those of the higher civilization of Japhet. For, the civilization and the moral elevation of man is the great object of revelation; and it appears clear, and conformable toreason, that, where future history is taught in the Pentateuch by figures, it should be figuratively, and not dogmatically, explained.