FOOTNOTES:
[1] Chapter ix in volume iii of the original London edition.
For the following topics mentioned in this chapter, see Nuttall's Journal, volume xiii of our series: Massern (note 181), Vache Grasse (164), Cadron (133), Short Mountain (162), Rocky Bayou (158), metif (114), Quapaw Indians (84), Osage-Cherokee hostilities (155), Governor William Clark (105), Governor James Miller (214), Tallantusky (148), Cherokee treaty (145), Point Remove (139), White River Cut-Off (72), Little Rock (123), roads through Arkansas (126), gold and silver in Arkansas (128).—Ed.
[2] Later observations give the following results: latitude 35° 23´ 14˝; longitude 94° 25´ 52˝.—Ed.
[3] In the Missouri county of the same name, on the Mississippi, a hundred and forty miles below St. Louis. It is one of the oldest towns in the state. For historical sketch, see André Michaux's Travels, in our volume iii, note 154.—Ed.
[4] Stephen W. Kearney (1794-1848), of New Jersey, left his studies in Columbia College at the outbreak of the War of 1812-15, to enter the army as first lieutenant of the Thirteenth Infantry. A year later he was made captain for bravery at Queenstown Heights. Being retained at the close of the war, he was at the beginning of the Mexican War a colonel of dragoons. He led the Army of the West which marched from Bent's Fort to New Mexico, and later assisted in the conquest of California. In 1846 Kearney was breveted major-general, and appointed governor of California. Afterwards, he joined the army in Mexico, and there contracted the disease which resulted in his death.—Ed.
[5] The word Massern, applied by Darby as a name to the hills of the Arkansa territory, near the boundary of Louisiana, and by Nuttall, to the mountains at the sources of the Kiamesha and the Poteau, is supposed to be a corruption of Mont Cerne, the name of a small hill near Belle Point, long used as a look-out post by the French hunters.—James.
[6] "Squire" Billingsley came from middle Tennessee to Arkansas in 1814, and after a year passed at Cadron, settled on the Mulberry, in Franklin County, where he lived two years. When by the terms of the treaty with the Cherokee the white settlers were compelled to abandon this settlement, Billingsley removed to the Vache Grasse. He was a member of the first territorial legislature. See Nuttall's Journal, in our volume xiii, note 162.—Ed.
[7] Short Mountain Creek rises in south central Logan County, on the slope of the mountain of this name, and pursues a north-easterly course to the Arkansas.
When Fort Smith was first established, mail was brought from Arkansas Post by soldiers detailed for that duty. The trip by water consumed three weeks.—Ed.
[8] The deserted house occupied by the soldiers appears to have been the only one in this so-called settlement. There were, however, other settlers not far distant. John Tittsworth and two sons located near Short Mountain as early as 1814. A number of immigrants are said to have come to the county soon after the New Madrid earthquake (1812), and when the Cherokee were placed in possession of the north side of the Arkansas, others came in from that region. See Nuttall's Journal, in our volume xiii, note 162.—Ed.
[9] It may be proper to remark, that the elevation of none of the Ozark mountains having been ascertained, the estimates which we have made are only to be considered as approximating towards the truth.—James.
[10] Webber lived near the mouth of Illinois Creek, in Pope County.—Ed.
[11] For the Delaware Indians, see Post's Journals in volume i of our series, note 57; for the Shawnee, Weiser's Journal, ibid., note 13.—Ed.
[12] This treaty was dated October 6, 1818. Article 3, which grants the hunting privileges, reads as follows: "The Osages do hereby grant to the Cherokees and their allies an undisturbed passage to the hunting country, with permission to occupy and hunt on all the lands which they claim south of the Arkansas river." See American State Papers, "Indian Affairs," ii, p. 172.—Ed.
[13] For sketch of William Blount, see André Michaux's Travels, in our volume iii, note 95.—Ed.
[14] Mr. John Rogers, a very respectable and civilized Cherokee, told me that one of the regulators happening to have a relation who had been repeatedly guilty of theft, and finding him incorrigible, he destroyed his eyesight with a penknife; saying, "As long as you can see you will steal; I will, therefore, prevent your thefts by the destruction of your sight." Nuttall's Travels into the Arkansa Territory, p. 135., to which work the reader is referred for an interesting sketch of the history, and of the present condition of the Cherokees. We think it unnecessary to dwell longer upon a subject which has been so frequently discussed.—James.
Comment by Ed. See reprint in our volume xiii, p. 190.
[15] Illinois Bayou is a large creek draining Pope County, on the north side of the river. Near the Indian village, Dwight Mission was established in 1820 (see Nuttall's Journal, in our volume xiii, note 148). By inference, Point Pleasant was at the creek's mouth.—Ed.
[16] The waters of Little Red River are gathered from creeks heading in Van Buren, Searcy, and Stone counties. The main stream traverses Cleburne and White counties; it is navigable by small boats for about fifty miles. The route of the party from Illinois Creek to White River lay through the present counties of Pope, Van Buren, the north-west corner of Cleburne, and the adjoining portion of Stone; they probably crossed Little Red River near Clinton, seat of Van Buren County. The permanent occupation of this region by whites dates from the removal of the Cherokee (1825), and little record remains of earlier settlements.
Harding's (Harden's) Ferry was near the present Stone-Independence county boundary; the proprietor's house stood on the right bank of the river, ten miles above Batesville, seat of Independence County.—Ed.
[17] The treaty specified Shield's Ferry, on White River, as the locus of the north-eastern corner of the Cherokee reservation. A bold headland on the south side of the river, five miles above Batesville, still known as Shield's Bluff, is pointed out by residents as the point where the Cherokee line began. This bluff rises about six hundred feet above the river.—Ed.
[18] The geographical position of the sources of White River is accurately given in the text, but the statement is surprising, that "the average direction of its course is nearly due east parallel to the Arkansas." From its origins in Washington and Madison counties, in north-western Arkansas, the river flows north, entering Barry County, Missouri, and traversing Stone and Taney counties before leaving that state. In Arkansas, its direction is south-east to the confluence with the Black, and thence almost south to the Mississippi.
The sources of Black River are in Reynolds and Iron counties, Missouri; its course is nearly south.—Ed.
[20] The confluence of White river with the Mississippi, has been said to be "situated fifty miles above the mouth of the Arkansa." It has also been asserted, that its bifurcation is at "about thirty miles above its junction with the Mississippi." See Schoolcraft's View of the Lead Mines of Missouri, p. 248-253. There is, however, little reason to fear, that errors of this sort, upon a subject so familiarly known, will obtain general currency. In the same work, the length of White river is said to be thirteen hundred miles.—James.
[21] This road crossed White River a few miles, perhaps ten, below Batesville. The St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad follows the line of the old road, although somewhat to the eastward.
The site of Davidsonville was chosen in the autumn of 1815; it was at the mouth of Spring River (see post, note 26). The town was seat of Lawrence County until 1829; but after the removal of the court to a rival village, it declined and became extinct.—Ed.
[22] The mine of Merameg, which is silver, is pretty near the confluence of the river which gives it name, which is a great advantage to those who would work it, because they might easily, by that means, have their goods from Europe. It is situate about 500 leagues from the sea. Du Pratz' Louisiana, vol. i, p. 294.—James.
Comment by Ed. The reference is to volume i of the London edition of 1763; the quotation in the text is from ibid., pp. 362, 363.
Comment by Ed. Granite from quarries in Iron County, Missouri, was used in the construction of the capitol at Springfield, Illinois, of the custom houses at St. Louis and Cincinnati, and of other important works.
St. Francis River rises in St. François County, Missouri, a few miles east of the sources of Black River. The mention of White River in the text is a slip of the pen. The whole course of the St. Francis is parallel to that of Black River and lower White River. It falls into the Mississippi at the north-east corner of Phillips County, Arkansas.
[24] The tuberous roots of the convolvulus batatas of Linnæus.—James.
[25] Now Cura Creek, which falls into the Black from the west, in north-eastern Independence County.—Ed.
[26] Strawberry River is a considerable stream, which unites with Black River on the southern line of Lawrence County. It flows from Izard County across Sharp, and the south-west portion of Lawrence. Some of the earliest settlers in this region occupied its fertile bottom lands as early as 1810-12.
The chief source of Spring River is known as the Mammoth Spring of Fulton County; it is near the Missouri boundary, in the north-eastern corner of the county. The water issues from an opening a hundred and twenty feet in circumference, at the rate of nine thousand barrels per minute. An apparent boiling is produced by gas in solution. Myatt's Creek and South Fork, branches of Spring River which are longer but convey less water, rise beyond the state line, traverse Fulton County in a south-easterly direction, and join the main stream near the Sharp County line. Thence the course is south-east across Sharp County, and along the Randolph-Lawrence county boundary to Black River.
Eleven Point River rises in Howell County, Missouri, crosses Oregon County, and thence flows south through Randolph County, Arkansas.—Ed.
[27] Big River originates in Iron County, Missouri, near the sources of Black River; it pursues a devious course, traversing Washington, St. François, and Jefferson counties, and falls into the Merameg about thirty miles above the confluence of the latter with the Mississippi.—Ed.
[28] Little Black River heads in Carter County, Missouri; it is a tributary of the Currents, although the combined stream is sometimes called Little Black.
Currents (Current) River rises in Texas County, Missouri, and flows first north-east then south-east, traversing Shannon, Carter, and Ripley counties, in that state, and portions of Clay and Randolph counties in Arkansas. It joins Little Black in Clay. Currents River rivals Black River itself in size.
There are many variants of the name of the stream here called Fourche De Thomas. The Philadelphia edition has Thomas' river or fork; elsewhere it is given indifferently as Fourche à Thomas, Fourche à Dumas, and Fourche Dumas, while a recent map has Fouche or Dumaz. It heads in Ripley County, Missouri, and flows south. Pocahontas, seat of Randolph County, Arkansas, is just below its mouth.
In addition to those mentioned, Black River receives a few small western tributaries above the Missouri line—among them, Cane Creek in Butler County, and Logan's Creek in Reynolds County.—Ed.
[29] Dr. James did not possess accurate information relative to these watercourses. Bear Creek is a Wayne County, Missouri, branch of Castor River. The latter rises in St. François County and loses itself in the swamp near the state line. Whitewater rises near Castor, but flows as far east as Cape Girardeau County, below which it is known as Little River. It also enters the swamp; the St. Francis receives the overflow from the swamp district, where the waters of many streams mingle. The New Madrid earthquake caused a general subsidence of the surface in this region, and altered the courses of many waterways.—Ed.
[30] Jackson was laid out in 1815. Its selection as county seat was a severe blow to the older town of Cape Girardeau; but the growth of river trade, after steam-boat navigation became regular, restored the latter's ascendency. The population of Jackson in 1818 was about three hundred; at present it numbers a thousand.—Ed.
[31] The Peoria Indians were an Algonquian tribe of the Illinois family. The French explorers found them on the Illinois River, in the vicinity of the present city of Peoria; but early in the eighteenth century, hard pressed in war, they joined the kindred Cahokia and Kaskaskia near the villages of the same names. The remnant of the tribe, numbering about two hundred, is established on the Quapaw Reservation in Indian Territory.—Ed.
[32] Bradbury's Travels in the Interior of America, p. 258, 2d edition [our volume v, p. 248]. Brackenridge's Views of Louisiana, p. 390. Stoddart's Sketches of Louisiana, p. 390.—James.