Volume 16 — [22] CHAPTER VIII [II]

[22] CHAPTER VIII [II]

Osage Orange—Birds—Falls of the Canadian—Green Argillaceous Sandstone—Northern and Southern Tributaries of the Canadian—Cotton-wood—Arrival at the Arkansa—Cane Brakes—Cherokees—Belle Point.

September 5th. The region we were now traversing is one of great fertility, and we had daily occasion to regret that our visit to it had not been made earlier in the season. Many unknown plants were observed, but their flowering season having passed, the fruit of many of them had ripened and fallen. We were deprived of the means of ascertaining the name and place of such as had been heretofore described, and of describing such as were new. We had, however, the satisfaction to recognize some interesting productions, among which we may enumerate a very beautiful species of bignonia, and the bow-wood or osage orange.80 The rocky hills abound in trees of a small size, and the cedars are sometimes so numerous, as to give their peculiar and gloomy colouring to the landscape. We listened as we rode forward to the note of a bird, new to some of us, and bearing a singular resemblance to the noise of a child's toy trumpet; this we soon found to be the cry of the great ivory-billed wood-pecker (picus principalis), the largest of the North American species, and confined to the warmer parts. The picus pileatus we had seen on the 25th of August, more than one hundred miles above, and this with the picus erythrocephalus were now common. Turkies were very numerous. The paroquet, chuck-wills-widow, wood-robin, mocking bird, and many other small birds, filled the woods with life and music. [23] The bald eagle, the turkey buzzard, and black vulture, raven and crow, were seen swarming like the blowing flies about any spot where a bison, an elk, or a deer had fallen a prey to the hunter. About the river were large flocks of pelicans, with numbers of snowy herons, and the beautiful ardea egretta.

Soon after we had commenced our morning ride, we heard the report of a gun at the distance of a mile, as we thought, on our left; this was distinctly heard by several of the party, and induced us to believe that white hunters were in the neighbourhood. We had recently seen great numbers of elk, and killed one or two, which we had found in bad condition.

September 6th. Numerous ridges of rocky hills traverse the country from north-east to south-west, crossing the direction of the river obliquely. They are of a sandstone, which bears sufficient evidence of belonging to a coal formation. At the spot where we halted to dine, one of these ranges, crossing the river, produces an inconsiderable fall. As the whole width of the channel is paved with a compact horizontal sandstone, we believed all the water of the river must be forced into view, and were a little surprised to find the quantity something less than it had been almost six hundred miles above in the same stream. It would appear, that all the water which falls in rains or flows from springs in an extent of country larger than Pennsylvania, is not sufficient to supply the evaporation of so extensive a surface of naked and heated sands.

If the river of which we speak should at any season of the year contain water enough for the purposes of navigation, it is probable the fall occasioned by the rocky traverse above mentioned will be sufficient to prevent the passage upwards. The point is a remarkable one, as being the locality of a rare and beautiful variety of sandstone. The rock which appears in the bed of the river is a compact slaty [24] sandstone, of a deep green colour, resembling some varieties of chloritic slate.

Whether the colour depends upon epidote, chlorite, or some other substance, we were not able to determine. The sandstone is micaceous, but the particles of mica, as well as those of the other integrant minerals, are very minutely divided. The same rock, as we found by tracing it to some distance, becomes of a light grey colour, and contains extensive beds of bituminous clay-slate. Its stratifications are so little inclined, that their dip cannot be estimated by the eye.

This point, though scarce deserving the name of a cataract, is so marked by the occurrence of a peculiar bed of rocks crossing the river, and by the rapid descent of the current, that it may be readily recognized by any who shall pass that way hereafter. In this view we attach some importance to it, as the only spot in a distance of six hundred miles we can hope to identify by description. In ascending, when the traveller arrives at this point, he has little to expect beyond, but sandy wastes and thirsty inhospitable steppes. The skirts of the hilly and wooded region extend to a distance of fifty or sixty miles above, but even this district is indifferently supplied with water. Beyond commences the wide sandy desert, stretching westward to the base of the Rocky Mountains. We have little apprehension of giving too unfavourable an account of this portion of the country. Though the soil is in some places fertile, the want of timber, of navigable streams, and of water for the necessities of life, render it an unfit residence for any but a nomade population. The traveller who shall at any time have traversed its desolate sands, will, we think, join us in the wish that this region may for ever remain the unmolested haunt of the native hunter, the bison, and the jackall.81

One mile below this point (which we call the Falls or the Canadian, rather for the sake of a name than [25] as considering it worthy to be thus designated), is the entrance, from the south, of a river fifty yards wide. Its banks are lined with tall forests of cotton-wood and sycamore, and its bottoms are wide and fertile. Its bed is less choked with sand than that of the river to which it is tributary. Six or eight miles farther down, and on the other side, is the confluence of the Great North Fork, discharging at least three times as much water as we found at the falls above mentioned. It is about eighty yards wide. The beds of both these tributaries are covered with water from shore to shore, but they have gentle currents, and are not deep, and neither of them have in any considerable degree that red tinge which characterizes the Canadian. We have already mentioned that what we consider the sources of the North Fork are situated in the floetz trap country, nearly opposite those of the Purgatory Creek of the Arkansa.82 Of one of its northern tributaries we have received some information from the recent work of Mr. Nuttall, who crossed it in his journey to the Great Salt river of Arkansa in 1819.83 "Still proceeding," says he, "a little to the north of west, about ten miles further, we came to a considerable rivulet of clear and still water, deep enough to swim our horses. This stream was called the Little North Fork (or Branch) of the Canadian, and emptied into the main North Fork of the same river, nearly 200 miles distant, including its meanders, which had been ascended by the trappers of beaver." From his account it appears that the banks of this stream are wooded, and that the "superincumbent rock" is a sandstone, not of the red formation, but probably belonging to a coal district.

Its water, like that of the Arkansa, and its northern tributaries, when not swelled by rains, is of a greenish [26] colour. This colouring is sometimes so intense in the rivers of this region as to suggest the idea that the water is filled with minute confervas or other floating plants, but when we see it by transmitted light, as when a portion of it is held in a glass vessel, the colour disappears.

Three and a half miles below the confluence of the North Fork is a remarkable rock, standing isolated in the middle of the river, like the Grand Tower in the Mississippi. It is about twenty-five feet high, and fifty or sixty in diameter, and its sides so perpendicular as to render the summit inaccessible. It appears to have been broken from a high promontory of gray sandstone overhanging the river on the north side.

Not being able to find grass for pasture, we rode later than usual, and were finally compelled to encamp on a sandy beach, which afforded nothing but rushes for our horses.

September 8th. The quantity of water in the river had now become so considerable as to impede our descent along the bed; but the valley was narrow, and so filled with close and entangled forests, and the uplands so broken and rugged, that no other path appeared to remain for us. We therefore continued to make our way, though with great difficulty, and found our horses much incommoded by being kept almost constantly in the water, as we were compelled to do to cross from the point of a sand-bar on one side the river, to the next on the other. Quicksands also occurred, and in places where we least expected it, our horses and ourselves were thrown to the earth without a moment's notice. These sudden falls, occasioned by sinking in the sand, and the subsequent exertion necessary to extricate themselves, proved extremely harassing to our jaded horses, and we had reason to fear that these faithful servants would fail us almost at the end of our journey.

[27] Above the falls, the width of the river, that is of the space included between its two banks, varies from three hundred yards to two miles; below it is uniformly narrower, scarce exceeding four hundred yards. The beaches are sloping, and often covered with young cotton-wood or willow trees. In the Missouri, Mississippi, and to some extent in the Arkansa and its tributaries, the islands, sand-bars, and even the banks, are constantly shifting place. In the progress of these changes, the young willows and cotton-wood trees which spring up wherever a naked beach is exposed, may be supposed to have some agency, by confining the soil with their roots, and arresting the dirt and rubbish in times of high water. On the Missouri, the first growth which springs up in these places, is so commonly the willow, that the expressions "willow-bar" and "willow-island" have passed into the language of the boatmen, and communicate the definite idea of a bar, or an island recently risen from the water. These willows become intermixed with the cotton-wood, and these trees are often almost the exclusive occupants of extensive portions of the low grounds. The foliage of the most common species of willow (S. angustata) is of a light green colour, and, when seen under certain angles, of a silvery gray, contrasting beautifully with the intense and vivid green of cotton-wood.84 Within a few yards of the spot where we halted to dine, we were so fortunate as to find a small log canoe made fast on shore. From its appearance we were assured it had been some months deserted by its rightful owner; and from the necessity of our situation, thought ourselves justified in seizing and converting it to our use. Our pack-horses had become much weakened, and reduced by long fatigue; and in crossing the river, as we had often to do, we felt that our collections, the only valuable part of our baggage, were constantly exposed to the risk of being wetted. We accordingly made prize of the [28] canoe, and putting on board our packs and heavy baggage, manned it with two men, designing that they should navigate it down to the settlements. Aside from this canoe, we discovered in the adjoining woods the remains of an old camp, which we perceived had been occupied by white men, and saw other convincing proofs that we were coming near some inhabited country.

We halted at evening in a small prairie on the north side of the river, the first we had seen for some time. The difficulties of navigation, arising from the shallowness of the water, prevented the arrival of the canoe and baggage until a late hour. The men had been compelled to wade a great part of the way, and drag the canoe over the sand.

September 9th. We had proceeded a mile or two from our encampment, when we discovered a herd of twenty or thirty elk, some standing in the water, and some lying upon the sand-beach, at no great distance before us. The hunters went forward, and singling out one of the finest bucks, fired upon him, at which the whole herd plunged into the thicket, and disappeared instantly. We had, however, too much confidence in the skill of the hunter to doubt but his shot had been fatal, and several of the party dismounting, pursued the herd into the woods, where they soon overtook the wounded buck. The noble animal, finding his pursuers at his heels, turned upon the foremost, who saved himself by springing into a thicket which the elk could not penetrate, but in which he soon became entangled by his enormous antlers, and fell an easy victim. His head was enveloped in such a quantity of cissus smilax and other twining vines, that scarce the tips of his horns could be seen; thus blind-folded, he stood until most of those who had followed into the woods had discharged their pieces, and did not finally yield up his life until he was stabbed to the heart with a knife. He was found in excellent condition, having more than two inches [29] of fat on the brisket. The meat was carried to the river, and deposited on a projecting point of rocks, with a note addressed to the men who were behind with the canoe, directing them to add this supply of provisions to their cargo.

At this point, and again at an inconsiderable distance below, a soft green slaty sandstone forms the bed of the river, and occasions a succession of rapids. At noon an observation by the meridian altitude of the sun's lower limb gave us 35° 30′, as an approximation to our latitude. This was much greater than we had anticipated from the position assigned to Red river on the maps, and tending to confirm the unpleasant fears we had entertained of having mistaken some tributary of the Arkansa for the Red river.

Thick and extensive cane brakes occurred on both sides of the river, and though the bottoms were wide and covered with heavy forests, we could see at intervals the distant sandstone hills, with their scattered forests of cedar and oak.

September 10th. We left our camp at the usual hour, and after riding eight or ten miles, arrived at the confluence of our supposed Red river with another of a much greater size, which we at once perceived to be the Arkansa. Our disappointment and chagrin at discovering the mistake we had so long laboured under, was little alleviated by the consciousness that the season was so far advanced, our horses and our means so far exhausted, as to place it beyond our power to return and attempt the discovery of the sources of the Red river. We had been misled by some little reliance on the maps, and the current statements concerning the position of the upper branches of Red river, and more particularly by the confident assurance we had received from the Kaskaia Indians, whom we did not suspect of a wish to deceive us in an affair of such indifference to them. Knowing there was a degree of ambiguity and confusion in the nomenclature of the rivers, we had insisted [30] particularly on being informed, whether the river we were descending was the one on which the Pawnee Piquas had their permanent residence, and this we were repeatedly assured was the case. Several other circumstances, which have been already mentioned, led us to the commission of this unfortunate mistake.

According to our estimate of distances on our courses, it is seven hundred and ninety-six and a half miles from the point where we first struck the Canadian to its confluence with the Arkansa. If we make a reasonable allowance for the meanders of the river, and for the extension of its upper branches some distance to the west of the place where we commenced our descent, the entire length of the Canadian will appear to be about one thousand miles.85 Our journey upon it had occupied a space of seven weeks, travelling with the utmost diligence the strength of our horses would permit.

On arriving at the Arkansa, we waited a short time for our canoe, in which we crossed our heavy baggage, and then swimming our horses, we ascended the bank in search of a place to encamp, but soon found ourselves surrounded by a dense almost impenetrable cane brake, where no vestige of a path could be found. In this dilemma, no alternative remained, but to force our way forward by the most laborious exertions. The canes were of large size, and stood so close together that a horse could not move forward the length of his body without breaking by main force a great number of them. Making our way with excessive toil among these gigantic gramina, our party might be said to resemble a company of rats traversing a sturdy field of grass. The cane stalks, after being trod to the earth, often inflicted, in virtue of their elasticity, blows as severe as they were unexpected. It is not to be supposed our horses alone felt the inconvenience of this sort of travelling. We received frequent blows and bruises on all parts of our [31] bodies, had our sweaty faces and hands scratched by the rough leaves of the cane, and oftentimes, as our attention was otherwise directed, we caught with our feet and dragged across our shins the flexible and spiny stalks of the green briar.

This most harassing ride we commenced at eleven in the morning, and continued without a moment's intermission till sunset, when finding we were not about to extricate ourselves, we returned near a mile and a half on our track, to a spot where we had passed a piece of open woods large enough to spread our blankets on. Here we laid ourselves down at dark, much exhausted by our day's journey.

Our fatigue was sufficient to overcome the irritation of the ticks, and we slept soundly until about midnight, when we were awakened by the commencement of a heavy fall of rain, from which, as we had not been able to set up our tent, we had no shelter.

On the following morning, after several hours spent in most laborious travelling, like that of the preceding day, we found ourselves emerging from the river bottom, and, to our great satisfaction, exchanging the cane brakes for open woods. At the foot of the hill lay a deep morass, covered with the nelumbo and other aquatic plants. It had probably been the former bed of the Arkansa. Observing water in some part of it, several of the party attempted to penetrate to it to drink, but the quaking bog was found so deep and soft as to be wholly impassable.

After ascending the hills we pursued our course nearly due north, through open woods of oak and nyssa, until we reached the prairie, and soon after discovered a large and frequented path, which we knew could be no other than that leading to Fort Smith. On emerging from the low grounds we had no longer the prospect of boundless and monotonous plains. We were in a region of mountains and forests, [32] interspersed with open plains, but these were of limited extent.

September 12th. We resumed our journey at sunrise. The weather was cool, and the morning fair. The wide and densely-wooded valley of the Arkansa lay on our route. The course of the river was marked by a long and undulating line of mist, brightening in the beams of the rising sun; beyond rose the blue summits of the Point Sucre and Cavaniol mountains, "in the clear light above the dews of morn." Though the region about us had all the characters of a mountain district, we could discover little uniformity in the direction of the ranges. The Cavaniol and Point Sucre mountains are situated on opposite sides of the Poteau, above the confluence of James's Fork, and are parts of low ridges running from S. W. to N. E. On the north side of the Arkansa is a ridge of considerable elevation, nearly parallel in direction to the aggregate course of the river.86

In the path we were travelling we observed tracks indicating that men on horseback had recently passed, and in the course of the morning we met a party of six or eight Indians, who informed us they were of the Cherokee nation; that we should be able to arrive at the military post at Belle Point on the following morning. They were on horseback, carrying guns, kettles, and other articles suited to a hunting excursion, which it was their purpose to make in the territory of the Osages; one or two of them had on round hats; all had calico shirts, or some other article of foreign fabric, as part of their dress; and all had a mean and squalid appearance, indicating that they had been in habits of frequent intercourse with the whites. They were unable to speak or understand our language, but communicated with considerable ease by means of signs.87

At eleven o'clock we halted, and as our provisions were nearly exhausted, most of the party went out to [33] hunt, but were not fortunate in meeting game. We found, however, some papaw trees with ripe fruit of an uncommon size and delicious flavor, with which we were able to allay our hunger. The papaw tree attains a much larger size, and the fruit arrives at greater perfection, in the low grounds of the Arkansa, than on the Missouri, Ohio, and Upper Mississippi, where it is also common. The papaws fall to the ground as soon as fully ripe, and are eagerly sought after by the bears, raccoons, oppossum, &c.

In the afternoon one of our mules failed so far that the undivided attention and the most active exertions of two men were required to keep him moving at the rate of a slow walk. This made it necessary we should encamp, and we accordingly selected a spot in a fine open grove of oaks, where we pitched our tent. Among other interesting plants we collected here the beautiful vexillaria88 virginica of Eaton, which has the largest flower of any of the legumina of the United States, as is remarked by Mr. Nuttall. We saw also the menispermum lyoni, hieracium marianum, rhexia virginica. As we encamped at an early hour, the party dispersed in several directions in search of game. Nothing was found except a swarm of bees, affording as much honey as we chose to eat for supper. While engaged in felling the tree we heard guns discharged at a distance, and by sending persons to examine, learned they were those of a party of men accompanying Mr. Robert Glen on his way from Fort Smith to the trading-house at the mouth of the Verdigrise.89 In the evening we received a visit from Mr. G., whose camp was distant only about a mile from ours. He was the first white man not of our own party whom we had seen since the 6th of [34] the preceding June. From him we received a highly acceptable present of coffee, biscuits, a bottle of spirits, &c.; also the welcome intelligence that Captain Bell, with his division of the exploring party, had arrived at Fort Smith some days previous.

Early on the 13th we took up our march in a heavy fall of rain, which continued until we arrived at the little plantation opposite Belle Point. Here we emerged from the deep silence and twilight gloom of the forest, and found ourselves once more surrounded by the works of men. The plantation consisted of a single enclosure, covered with a thick crop of maize, intermixed with gigantic stalks of the phytolacca decandria and ricinus palma christi; forming a forest of animal plants, which seemed almost to vie with miegias and annonas occupying the adjacent portions of the river bottoms. As we followed the winding pathway past the little cottage, at the corner of the field we were saluted by several large dogs, who sprang up from the surrounding weeds. Urged by our impatience to see human faces, we called out to the people in the cottage to direct us to Belle Point, although we knew the path could not be mistaken, and that we were not ten rods from the ferry. Notwithstanding our inquiries might have been thought impertinent, we were very civilly answered by a young woman, who came to the door, and attempted to silence the clamours of the dogs. We were not surprised to find our uncouth appearance a matter of astonishment both to dogs and men.

On arriving at the beach opposite Fort Smith, and making known our arrival by the discharge of a pistol, we perceived the inhabitants of the garrison and our former companions coming down to the ferry to give us welcome; and being soon carried over, we met from Major Bradford and Captain Ballard a most cordial and flattering reception.90 Captain Bell, with Mr. Say, Mr. Seymour, and Lieutenant Swift, having experienced numerous casualties, and achieved [35] various adventures, having suffered much from hunger, and more from the perfidy of some of their soldiers, had arrived on the 9th, and were all in good health. The loss most severely felt was that of the manuscript notes of Mr. Say and Lieutenant Swift. Measures for the apprehension of the deserters and the recovery of these important papers were taken immediately, and a reward of two hundred dollars offered. Mr. Glen had kindly volunteered his assistance and his influence to engage the Osages in the pursuit. But these efforts were unavailing.

We arrived at Fort Smith at about nine o'clock, and were soon afterwards invited to a bountifully furnished breakfast-table at Major Bradford's. Our attentive host knowing the caution necessary to be used by men in our situation, restrained us from a too unbounded indulgence in the use of bread, sweet potatoes, and other articles of diet to which we had been long unaccustomed. The experience of a few days taught us that it would have been fortunate for us if we had given more implicit heed to his caution.

The site of Fort Smith was selected by Major Long in the fall of 1817, and called Belle Point, in allusion to its peculiar beauty. It occupies a point of elevated land immediately below the junction of the Arkansa and the Poteau, a small tributary from the south-west. Agreeably to the orders of General Smith,91 then commanding the ninth military department, a plan of the proposed work was submitted to Major Bradford, at that time and since commandant at the post, under whose superintendance the works have been in part completed, not without some deviation from the original plan. The buildings now form two sides of a hollow square, terminated by strong block-houses at the opposite angles, and fronting towards the river.

The hill which forms the basis of the fort is a dark gray micaceous sandstone in horizontal laminæ, and is elevated about thirty feet above the water. The [36] country back of the fort has an undulating surface, and rises gradually as it recedes, being covered with heavy forests of oak, tulip tree, sassafras, &c. Towards the south and south-east, at no great distance, rise the summits of the mountainous range already mentioned. The Sugar-loaf and Cavaniol mountains (the former being one of a group of these similar conic summits), are visible from some points near Fort Smith. The Poteau, so called by the French from the word signifying a post or station, rises sixty or seventy miles south of Belle Point, opposite to the sources of the Kiamesha, a branch of Red river. Nearly the whole of its course is through a hilly or mountainous region, but it is one so sparingly supplied with water, that the Poteau, within two miles of its confluence with the Arkansa, is in the dry season no more than a trifling brook. In an excursion which we made from Fort Smith, we ascended the Poteau about a mile and a half, where we observed an extensive bed of bituminous clay-slate, indicating the neighbourhood of coal. Tracing this slate to the south and east, we found it to pass under a very considerable sandstone hill. Several circumstances induce us to believe that it is also underlayed by a sandstone similar to that at the fort. Attentive examination will show that these rocks have a slight inclination towards the east; and if the bituminous slate in question had been underlayed by compact limestone, as has been conjectured,92 it is highly probable this rock would have emerged near where the sandstone appears at Belle Point. We make this remark because, although we have often seen both limestone and bituminous clay-slate in various parts of the Arkansa territory, it has never been our fortune to meet with them in connexion. A few rods above this bed of bituminous slate we crossed the Poteau almost at a single step, and without wetting the soles [37] of our mockasins, so inconsiderable was the quantity of water it contained. The point between the confluence of the Poteau and the Arkansa is low and fertile bottom land, and, like that on the opposite side of the river, covered with dense and heavy forests of cotton-wood, sycamore, and ash, intermixed with extensive and impenetrable cane brakes. In these low grounds the beautiful papaw tree, whose luscious fruit was now ripe, occurs in great abundance. It rises to the height of thirty or forty feet, and its trunk is sometimes not less than a foot in diameter.

Grape vines, several scandent species of smilax and cissus, and a most singular vine allied to menispermum, are so intermixed with the sturdy under growth as to render the woods almost impassable. Paths have been opened by the people of the garrison where they have been found necessary by cutting away the canes and small trees; but they may be said to resemble subterranean passages, to which the rays of the sun never penetrate. We found the air in these, and indeed in every part of heavy forests, stagnant, and so loaded with the effluvia of decaying vegetable substances as to be immediately oppressive to the lungs. After spending an hour or two in an atmosphere of this kind, we found ourselves perceptibly affected with languor and dizziness.

The gardens at Fort Smith afforded green corn, melons, sweet potatoes, and other esculent vegetables, which to us had for a long time been untasted luxuries. It is probable we did not exercise sufficient caution in recommencing the use of these articles, as we soon found our health beginning to become impaired. We had been a long time confined to a meat diet, without bread or condiments of any kind, and were not surprised to find ourselves affected by so great and so sudden a change. It may be worth while to remark, that we had been so long unaccustomed to the use of salt, that the sweat of our faces had lost all perceptible saltness, and that the ordinary [38] dishes which were brought to our mess-table at the Fort appeared unpalatable, on account of being too highly seasoned.

In a region of extensive river alluvion, supporting, like that of the Arkansa, boundless forests, impervious to the winds, and the rays of the sun, it is not surprising that a state of the atmosphere should exist unfavourable to health; intermitting, remitting, and continued bilious fevers prevail during the summer and autumn, and in many instances terminate fatally. Among recent settlers, the want of the most common comforts, of the advice and attendance of skilful physicians, and, above all, the want of cleanliness, and the destructive habits of intemperance, are causes operating powerfully to produce and aggravate these diseases. The settlements about Fort Smith were sickly, and we saw numbers with that peculiar sallowness of complexion which accompanies those chronic derangements of the functions of the liver, so often the consequence of bilious fevers. It is obvious, that the causes of the acknowledged sickliness of the recent settlements in the south and west, are in a great measure local and unconnected with the climate; by the increase of settlements, and the progress of cultivation, they will be in part removed.

Fort Smith is garrisoned by one company of riflemen, under the command of Major Bradford. Among other important designs contemplated in the establishment of this post, one was to prevent the encroachments of the white settlers upon the lands still held by the Indians. Some of the most fertile portions of the Arkansa territory are those about the Verdigrise, Skin Bayou, Illinois, Six Bulls, &c.;93 in which some unauthorised settlements were heretofore made, but have recently been abandoned, in compliance with the requirements of the commandant at Fort Smith.94