Proceed up White river for the Arkansa—Suspicious conduct of one of the boatmen—Pass through the connecting bayou, and proceed up the Arkansa; its navigation; soil and surrounding scenery—A small French settlement—Extraordinary mildness of the season—Mounds—Changes in the alluvial lands produced by the agency of the river—Land speculators—Vegetation of the alluvial lands—The town or Post of Arkansas—Enormous land claims—Difficulty of navigating against the current—The Great Prairie—First settlement on the Arkansa; its present state—Agricultural advantages arising from the mildness of the climate—Storax—Aboriginal remains—The Quapaws or Arkansas—Their traditions and character.

13th.] To-day I was detained at Mr. M’Lane’s, waiting the drunken whim of the Yankee, whom necessity had obliged me to hire. In the course of a few hours he had shifted from two bargains. At first, I was to give him five dollars for his assistance, and in case that should prove inadequate, I had agreed to hire an additional hand on the Arkansa. Now he wished to have the boat for bringing her completely to the Port, and next he wanted 10 dollars!

I endeavoured to amuse myself in the neighbourhood, by a ramble through the adjoining cane-brake. Here I found abundance of the Celtis integrifolia (entire-leaved nettle tree) and the common and one-seeded honey-locust; also Forrestiera acuminata of Poiret (Borya acuminata, Wild.). The day was as mild and warm as the month of May, and the Senecio laciniata, so common along the banks of the Mississippi, already showed signs of flowering.

14th.] To-day we proceeded up White river with {65} considerable difficulty, and hard labour, the Mississippi not being sufficiently high to produce any eddy. The course which we made, in the two miles that we ascended, was west by north. I now found the boatman whom I had hired, one of the most worthless and drunken scoundrels imaginable; he could not be prevailed upon to do anything but steer, while myself and the other man I had hired, were obliged to keep constantly to the oar, or the cordelle (tow-rope). In the evening we left the boat without any guard, intending to repair to it in the morning from Mr. M’Lane’s, where we returned again this evening, being only three miles distant across the forest. Here I discovered that the Yankee intended to proceed to the boat in our absence and rob me, pretending some business to the mouth of the Arkansa, for which he must depart by moon-light. Unknown to him, however, and accompanied by a young man whom I had hired in his place, we repaired to the boat, waiting under arms the approach of the thief, but unable to obtain a boat, he had relinquished the attempt, and saved himself from chastisement.

In the neighbouring woods I was shewn a scandent leguminous shrub, so extremely tenacious as to afford a good substitute for ropes, and commonly employed as a boat’s cable. A knot can be tied of it with ease. On examination I found it to be the plant which I have called Wisteria speciosa (Glycine frutescens. Willd.) the Carolina kidney-bean tree.⁠[73]

15th.] We continued with hard labour ascending White river to the bayou, said to enter seven miles up that stream. The latter proceeds from the bayou, in a direction of west to north-west, the bayou or cut-off continuing to the southwest. In this distance, there are no settlements, the land being overflowed by the back water of the Mississippi. We passed nearly {66} through the bayou, in which there are four points of land and a half; the current carrying us almost three miles an hour towards the Arkansa, which it entered nearly at right angles, with a rapid current, and a channel filled with snags. The length of the bayou appears to be about eight or nine miles.

16th.] Leaving the bayou, we entered the Arkansa, which was very low, but still red and muddy from the freshets of the Canadian. Most of the larger streams which enter into it from the south, are charged with red and turbid water, while those of the north are clear. Every where I observed the chocolate or reddish brown clay of the salt formation, deposited by the southern freshets. The Arkansa had here a very gentle current, and was scarcely more than 200 yards wide, with its meanders on a small scale, similar to those of the Mississippi. In consequence of the unrestrained dominion of the inundation, no settlements yet appeared in this quarter. We proceeded chiefly by means of the cordelle, but at a very tedious and tiresome rate, for, after the utmost exertion, with our unwieldy boat, we were this evening only six and a half miles above the outlet of the bayou.

17th.] We found the labour of towing our boat exceedingly tiresome, in consequence of the sudden falling of the river, produced by a corresponding ebb of the Mississippi. With painful exertions, and after wading more than three hours in the river, we passed only two bars in the course of the day.

18th.] To-day we towed along two bars, much more considerable than any preceding bends, but had the disappointment to spend the night only a single mile below Madame Gordon’s, the place of our destination with the boat, and only 16 miles above the bayou, by which we entered the Arkansa. This house is the first which is met with in ascending the river. Nearly opposite to the foot of the last bar {67} but one which we passed, a vast pile of drift wood marks the outlet of a bayou, which is open in high water, and communicates with the Mississippi.

The three last bends of the river, like the four first, tending by half circles to the north-west, are each about two and three miles in circuit. As in the Mississippi, the current sets with the greatest force against the centre of the curves; the banks of which are nearly perpendicular, and subject to a perpetual state of dislocation. In such situations we frequently see brakes of cane; while, on the opposite side, a naked beach of sand, thinly strewed with succulent and maritime plants, considerably wider than the river, appears to imitate the aridity of a desert, though contrasted at a little distance by skirting groves of willows and poplars.

No other kind of soil appears than a friable loam, and the beds of red clay, which so strongly tinge the water at particular periods of inundation. The sand of the river appears to be in perpetual motion, drifting along at the beck of the current; its instability is indeed often dangerous to the cattle that happen to venture into the river, either to drink or traverse the stream.

The land, although neglected, appears in several places, below Madame Gordon’s, high enough to be susceptible of cultivation, and secure from inundation, at least for some distance from the immediate bank of the river.

No change, that I can remark, yet exists in the vegetation, and the scenery is almost destitute of every thing which is agreeable to human nature; nothing yet appears but one vast trackless wilderness of trees, a dead solemnity, where the human voice is never heard to echo, where not even ruins of the humblest kind recal its history to mind, or prove the past dominion of man. All is rude nature as it sprang into {68} existence, still preserving its primeval type, its unreclaimed exuberance.

19th.] This morning we had extremely hard labour, to tow the only mile which remained of our tiresome voyage. I was obliged to plunge into the water up to the waist, and there work for some time, to disengage the boat from a hidden log upon which it was held; the men I had employed, being this morning scarcely willing to wet their feet, although I had to pay them exorbitant wages.

A mile and a half from Madame Gordon’s, there was a settlement, consisting of four or five French families, situated upon an elevated tract of fertile land, which is occasionally insulated by the overflowings of the White and Arkansa rivers.

20th.] To-day, and indeed for more than a week past, the weather, except being cloudy, has felt to me like May; towards mid-day, the thermometer rose to 67°. The birds had commenced their melodies; and on the high and open bank of the river near to Madame Gordon’s, I had already the gratification of finding flowers of the same natural family as many of the early plants of Europe; the Cruciferæ; but to me they were doubly interesting, as the first fruits of a harvest never before reaped by any botanist.

In the afternoon, I walked about a mile from the river to the house of Monsieur Tenass, an honest and industrious farmer. The crop of cotton, and of corn, here the last summer was, I understand, very indifferent, for want of rain. The first sold here, at five to six dollars per hundred weight, in the seed; and flour at 10 dollars per barrel.

The climate is said to be too warm for apples, but quite suitable for peaches. The land on which this gentleman and his neighbours resided, in tolerable independence, is very considerably elevated and open, bearing a resemblance to the lands about the Chicasaw {69} Bluffs, and at first view, I thought I discovered a considerable hill, but it was, in fact, an enormous mound, not less than 40 feet high, situated towards the centre of a circle of other lesser mounds, and elevated platforms of earth. The usual vestiges of earthenware, and weapons of hornstone flint, are here also met with, scattered over the surrounding soil.

In any other direction from this settlement, the lands are totally overflowed in freshets as far as the Mississippi. On this side of the Arkansa, the floods cover the whole intermediate space to White river, a distance of 30 miles. Within this tract, cultivation can never take place without recourse to the same industry, which has redeemed Holland from the ocean. The singular caprice of the river, as it accidentally seeks its way to the sea, meandering through its alluvial valley, is truly remarkable. The variation of its channel is almost incredible, and the action which it exercises over the destiny of the soil, can scarcely be conceived. After pursuing a given course for many ages, and slowly encroaching, it has, at length, in many instances cut through an isthmus, and thus abandoned perhaps a course of six or eight miles, in which the water stagnating, at length becomes totally insulated, and thus presents a lagoon or lake. One of these insulated channels, termed a lake, commences about two miles from hence, and approaches within four miles of the Arkansas or the Post of Osark, affording a much nearer communication than the present course of the river.

Towards evening, two keel boats came in sight, one of which was deeply loaded with whiskey and flour; the other, a small boat fitted out by a general Calamees and his brother, two elderly men out on a land speculation, who intended to ascend the river as far as the Cadron,⁠[74] which is 300 miles from hence by water, or to the Fort,⁠[75] which is 350 miles further. I perceived that they noted down every particular which {70} came to their knowledge, but appeared to be illiterate men, and of course, I found them incapable of appreciating the value of science. On application, they merely condescended to offer me a passage, provided I would find my own provision, and work as a boat-man. Such was the encouragement, which I at length wrung from these generous speculators; not, I dare say, exploring the Missouri territory with the same philanthropic views as the generous Birkbeck.

21 st.] About 12 o’clock, the thermometer was again at 67°. In the course of the forenoon, I took a solitary ramble down the bank of the river, and found along its shelving border, where the sun obtained free access, abundance of the Mimosa glandulosa of Michaux; also Polypremum procumbens, Diodia virginica, Verbena nodiflora, Lin. Eclipta erecta, Mich. Poa stricta, Panicum capilaceum, Poa reptans as usual in vast profusion, and Capraria multifida. The trees and shrubs are chiefly the Pecan, (Carya olivœformis) C. aquatica; the black walnut, (Juglans nigra), but very rare; Fraxinus quadrangulata, Liquidamber and Platanus, but rarely large or full grown; also Celtis integrifolia; the swamp oak (Quercus aquatica), nearly sempervirent, the red oak (Q. rubra), the scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), Spanish oak (Q. falcata), Populus angulisans, the cotton wood, of greater magnitude than any other tree in this country, with the wood yellowish, like that of the Tulip tree, answering the purpose of fence rails, and being tolerably durable. The smaller white poplar (P. monilifera), never so large as the preceding, commonly growing in groves like the willows, and presenting a bark which is white and even. Different kinds of honey locust, as the common species Gleditscia triacanthos, the one-seeded G. monosperma, and the short podded G. brachyloba. There is no sugar-maple, as I understand, nearer than the upper parts of the St. Francis and White river.

{71} The alluvial soil is here sandy and light; by no means luxuriant, except on the very margin of the river. We no where see such enormous trees as those which so frequently occur along the banks of the Ohio; this, however, may in part be occasioned by the instability of the soil, from whence they are occasionally swept at no very distant intervals. The tulip tree (Lyriodendron tulipifera), which attains the acme of its perfection and magnitude in Kentucky, is not met with on the banks of the Arkansa.

In consequence of the many saline streams which fall into this river, its waters are frequently found to be almost impotable.

22d.] The path, which I this morning pursued to the Post, now town of Arkansas, passed through remarkably contrasted situations and soil. After leaving the small circumscribed and elevated portion of settled lands already noticed, and over which were scattered a number of aboriginal mounds, I entered upon an oak swamp, which, by the marks on the trees, appeared to be usually inundated, in the course of the summer, four to six feet by the back water of the river. The species are principally Quercus lyrata, Q. macrocarpa (the over-cup oak); Q. phellos (the willow oak); Q. falcata (the Spanish oak); and Q. palustris (the swamp oak); with some red and scarlet, as well as black and post oak on the knolls, or more elevated parts. In this swamp, I also observed the Nyssa aquatica, N. pubescens (Ogechee lime, the fruit being prepared as a conserve), as well as N. biflora, and Gleditscia monosperma. After crossing this horrid morass, a delightful tract of high ground again occurs, over which the floods had never yet prevailed; here the fields of the French settlers were already of a vivid green, and the birds were singing from every bush, more particularly the red bird (Loxia cardinalis), and the blue sparrow (Motacilla sialis). The ground appeared perfectly whitened with {72} the Alyssum bidentatum. The Viola bicolor, the Myosurus minimus of Europe, (probably introduced by the French settlers) and the Houstonia serpyllifolia of Michaux, (H. patens of Mr. Elliott) with bright blue flowers, were also already in bloom. After emerging out of the swamp, in which I found it necessary to wade about ankle deep, a prairie came in view, with scattering houses spreading over a narrow and elevated tract for about three miles parallel to the bend of the river.

On arriving, I waited on Monsieur Bougie,⁠[76] one of the earliest settlers and principal inhabitants of the place, to whom I was introduced by letter. I soon found in him a gentleman, though disguised at this time in the garb of a Canadian boatman. He treated me with great politeness and respect, and, from the first interview, appeared to take a generous and active interest in my favour. Monsieur B. was by birth a Canadian, and, though 70 years of age, possessed almost the vigour and agility of youth. This settlement owes much to his enterprise and industry.

The town, or rather settlement of the Post of Arkansas,⁠[77] was somewhat dispersed over a prairie, nearly as elevated as that of the Chicasaw Bluffs, and containing in all between 30 and 40 houses. The merchants, then transacting nearly all the business of the Arkansa and White river, were Messrs. Braham and Drope, Mr. Lewis, and Monsieur Notrebe,⁠[78] who kept well-assorted stores of merchandize, supplied chiefly from New Orleans, with the exception of some heavy articles of domestic manufacture obtained from Pittsburgh. Mr. Drope, to whom I was also introduced by letter, received me with politeness, and I could not but now for awhile consider myself as once more introduced into the circle of civilization.

The improvement and settlement of this place proceeded slowly, owing, in some measure, as I am informed, to the uncertain titles of the neighbouring {73} lands. Several enormous Spanish grants remained still undecided; that of Messrs. Winters, of Natchez, called for no less than one million of acres, but the congress of the United States, inclined to put in force a kind of agrarian law against such monopolizers, had laid them, as I was told, under the stipulation of settling upon this immense tract a certain number of families.⁠[79]

The cotton produced in this neighbourhood, of a quality no way inferior to that of Red river, obtained this year from six to six and a half dollars per cwt. in the seed, and there were now two gins established for its preparation, though, like every thing else, in this infant settlement of the poor and improvident, but little attention beyond that of absolute necessity, was as yet paid to any branch of agriculture. Nature has here done so much, and man so little, that we are yet totally unable to appreciate the value and resources of the soil. Amongst other kinds of grain, rice has been tried on a small scale, and found to answer every expectation. The price of this grain, brought from New Orleans, was no less than 25 to 37½ cents per lb. by retail. Under the influence of a climate mild as the south of Europe, and a soil equal to that of Kentucky, wealth will ere long flow, no doubt, to the banks of the Arkansa.

I again made application to the land speculators, trying to prevail upon them on any terms, to take up my baggage, as far as the Cadron, which would have enabled me immediately to proceed on my journey, across the great prairie, but they remained inexorable.

23d.] To-day, I returned to Madame Gordon’s, which, though only six miles distant by land, is not less than 15 by water. I was now obliged more deeply to wade through the enswamped forests, which surround the habitable prairie lands, in consequence of the late rain. In these ponds, I am told, the Proteus {74} or Syren is occasionally met with. There are also alligators, though by no means numerous.

24th.] This morning I again proceeded up the river with my flat boat, by the assistance of two French boatmen, full of talk, and, at first, but indifferently inclined to work; we succeeded, however, by night, to get to the third of the five sand-bars or bends, which intervene between this place and the village of Arkansas. The following day in the evening, after a good deal of hard labour and wading, on my part, and that of the negro in my employ, we arrived at Monsieur Bougie’s, and the next day I parted with a sort of regret from the boat, which, with all its difficulties, had afforded me, through the most inclement season of the year, no inconsiderable degree of comfort and convenience.

On the 26th, I proceeded with my baggage and property to the village in Monsieur Bougie’s perogue, accompanied by one boatman. Near to the town, we grounded on the inner side of a recent, and still augmenting bar, and, after falling a little back, we crossed over, but here the current would not permit us to advance with the oars. The shore was high, and the water too deep for poles, so that we had again to attempt the side we had left; here, in drifting with velocity again on the bar, our fickle boat or canoe was so near overturning, notwithstanding our exertions, that, for a moment I considered every thing as lost; getting out, however, into the water, we with some difficulty set the perogue afloat, and for safety dragged her along, up to our waists in water. The sand was here so moveable, as to bury our feet at every step. We at length succeeded, and came to shore, under a bank 100 feet high, without any kind of practicable landing for merchandise, that of last year being now choked up with moving sand.

In the meanest garb of a working boat-man, and {75} unattended by a single slave, I was no doubt considered, as I had probably been by the land speculators, one of the canaille, and I neither claimed nor expected attention; my thoughts centered upon other objects, and all pride of appearance I willingly sacrificed to promote with frugality and industry the objects of my mission.

An insignificant village, containing three stores, destitute even of a hatter, a shoe-maker, and a taylor, and containing about 20 houses, after an existence of near a century, scarcely deserved geographical notice, and will never probably flatter the industry of the French emigrants, whose habits, at least those of the Canadians, are generally opposed to improvement and regular industry. During my stay, I took up my residence with Dr. M’Kay, and found in him an intelligent and agreeable companion; but such is the nationality of these ignorant people, that French quackery has hitherto been preferred to the advice of a regular physician. Blanket capeaus, mocassins, and overalls of the same materials, are here, as in Canada, the prevailing dress; and men and women commonly wear a handkerchief on the head in place of hats and bonnets.

28th.] This morning I accompanied the doctor to shoot wild geese, as they passed to a neighbouring lake, about two miles in the rear of the town. Here a vast prairie opens to view, like a shorn desert, but well covered with grass and herbaceous plants. Over this vast plain, which proceeds a little to the west of north, computed to be not less than 30 leagues in length, by 10 to 15 in breadth, passes the road to the Cadron, and the settlements of Red river.

Among other plants already in flower in these natural meadows, we saw abundance of a new and fragrant species of Allium with greenish-white flowers, and destitute of the characteristic odour of the genus in common with A. fragrans, to which it is allied. {76} The Houstonia serpyllifolia and Claytonia caroliniana were also in full bloom at this early season.

February 3d.] This afternoon I walked to Mr. Mosely’s, six miles distant by land, and 15 by water. The prairie, in consequence of the late rains, appeared almost one continued sheet of water. I observed springing up, the Eryngium aquaticum, occasionally employed as a medicine by the inhabitants, acting as a diuretic, and in larger doses proving almost emetic. Crossing the prairie, which is bordered with settlements, we entered the alluvial forest, containing oak, hickory, box, elder (Acer negundo), elm, &c. nearer the river cotton-wood appears as usual. I saw here a prickly-ash (Zanthoxylion Clava Herculis), the size of an ordinary ash, but the same species as that of the southern states, and the bark proving equally efficacious for allaying the tooth-ache.

The first attempt at settlement on the banks of the Arkansa, was begun a few miles below the bayou which communicates with White river. An extraordinary inundation occasioned the removal of the garrison to the borders of the lagoon near madame Gordon’s, and, again disturbed by an overflow, they at length chose the present site of Arkansas. The first band of hunters who attempted to reside here, were, it is said, obliged to remove, in consequence of the swarms of rats, with which they found the country infested. These animals, which are native, differ specifically from the European species, are much larger, and commit the most serious depredations.⁠[80]

{77} The poverty of the land in the immediate vicinity of this place, will probably operate as a perpetual barrier to its extension. The encroachments of the river upon the precipitous and friable bank in front of the town, and the enlargement of the ravines by which it is intersected, renders the site altogether precarious, and prevents the practicability of any thing like a convenient landing for merchandise. During the period of high water, however, the adjoining bayou, or channel of communication with a neighbouring lake, affords this convenience.

The love of amusements, here, as in most of the French colonies, is carried to extravagance, particularly gambling, and dancing parties or balls. But the sum of general industry is, as yet, totally insufficient for the support of any thing like a town.

The houses, commonly surrounded with open galleries, destitute of glass windows, and perforated with numerous doors, are well enough suited for a summer shelter, but totally destitute of comfort in the winter. Without mechanics, domestic conveniences and articles of dress were badly supplied at the most expensive rate. Provision produced in the country, such as beef and pork, did not exceed six cents per pound; but potatoes, onions, apples, flour, spirits, wine, and almost every other necessary article of diet, were imported at an enormous price, into a country which ought to possess every article of the kind for exportation to New Orleans. Such is the evil which may always be anticipated by forcing a town, like a garrison, into being, previous to the existence of necessary {78} supplies. With a little industry, surely every person in possession of slaves might have, at least, a kitchen garden! but these Canadian descendants, so long nurtured amidst savages, have become strangers to civilized comforts and regular industry. They must, however, in time give way to the introduction of more enterprising inhabitants.

The enormous claim of Messrs. Winters, containing about a million of acres of this territory, and which will yet probably for some time remain undetermined, proves a considerable bar to the progress of the settlement. Besides a great portion of the neighbouring prairie, it embraces much of the finest land on the northern border of the river, and continues for near one hundred miles along its bank.

The great prairie of which we have already spoken, said to be 90 miles in length, contains an invaluable body of land, and, where sufficiently drained, which is pretty generally the case, except during the rains of winter, would produce most species of grain in abundance. As a pasture it is truly inexhaustible, though in the hottest months of summer occasionally deprived of water.

The cattle throughout this country are generally left to provide for themselves, and suffered to range at large, excepting such as are in domestic use. That they may not become entirely irreclaimable, they are now and then enticed to come up to the fold by a handful of salt, or a few ears of corn. No hay is provided for fodder, nor does it indeed appear necessary, except to assist in fattening for the stall, but this piece of economy, like almost every thing else which might promise comfort, is neglected, and the cattle are killed just as they are hunted up from the prairie or the cane-brake. It is from the prevalence of the cane, and the shave-rush (Equisetum hiemale), that the cattle are kept in tolerable condition, and often even fat, through the severest part of the winter. Indeed, at {79} this early, but perhaps uncommonly advanced season of the year (not yet the middle of February), there was already a few inches of green herbage, and only one night during this month have I seen any ice. The thermometer, towards noon, rises to 70°, and the peach and plum-trees, almost equally naturalized, have nearly finished blooming. The fig, however, unprotected by the shelter of a wall, though sufficiently vigorous, appears every year to die down nearly to the ground. Grapes succeed so as to promise wine, but without the advantage of cellars it soon becomes subjected to the acetous fermentation.

The sweet gum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua), which produces no resin in the northern states, where it is equally indigenous, here, as in Mexico and the Levant, exudes the odoriferous Storax of the shops.

As to the breed of domestic animals, no selection of those commonly raised has yet been attended to, nor any foreign ones introduced from parallel climates, so as to afford us any idea of the resources and conveniences which might here be brought into existence. The horned cattle increase and fatten without any labour or attention, more than the trouble of occasionally ascertaining their existence in the wilderness through which they are at liberty to roam without limit. It is in consequence of this unrestrained liberty, and the advantage of a perpetual supply of food, that the horse has become already naturalized in the southern parts of this territory, and the adjoining province of Spain. By this means, however, the domestic breed has been, in some respects considerably deteriorated; the horses of this country are rather small, though very hardy, and capable of subsisting entirely upon cane or grass, even when subjected to the hardest labour. They were commonly sold from 30 to 50 and 100 dollars a piece, though paid for in the depreciated currency of the country, bearing a discount of from 10 to 20 per cent.

{80} The singular temperature and general mildness of this climate, which may be presumed from a cursory inspection of its flora and agriculture, and then again the occurrence of considerable frosts in the winter, are circumstances which justly excite astonishment when we survey the same parallels of latitude in the transatlantic regions. Here, in the latitude of the Cape of Good Hope, in that of Sidon, and even south of Candia and Cyprus, with its groves of myrtle, near to the latitude of Madeira, and in that of the empire of Morocco, we find the fig annually levelled to the ground by frosts. Not even the low palmetto (Sabal minor) indigenous, consequently no prospect of naturalizing the date, so common in the same parallels of Africa; no olive, nor any well-grounded prospect of its success; wines, for which Madeira has so long been celebrated (at least any of superior quality), appear also proscribed from this part of America. No evergreens of any description, except the holly, appear throughout the dreary forests. The north-western winds, sweeping over the arctic deserts of eternal winter, have extended the temperature of northern Europe over all the regions of the United States, nearly to the very limits of the tropic. The climate of Arkansas, scarcely elevated more than 5 or 600 feet above the level of the sea, is not more ardent and less temperate than that of the south of France.

For several miles in and round the town, the accumulation of low mounds or Indian graves, scattered with those fragments of pots, which were either interred or left on the graves with offers of food, by the affectionate friends of the deceased, mark the ancient residence of the natives. In one of the tumuli, on the bank towards the bayou, intersected by the falling away of the earth, a pot of this kind, still employed by the Chicasaws and other natives for boiling their victuals, had fallen out of the grave, and did not appear {81} to be of very ancient interment. Whether these monuments had been the slow accumulation of natural and casual mortality, or the sad remains of some overwhelming destruction, was now impossible to determine. From the ashes of fires, and fragments of charcoal, besides the accompaniment of many indestructible weapons, utensils, and pots broken into fragments by force, I suspect that these mounds are merely incidental, arising from the demolition of the circular dwelling in which the deceased had been interred, a custom which was formerly practised by the Natchez, Cherokees, and other of the natives. Indeed, the sacrifices and offerings which the Indians formerly made to the manes of the deceased father, were sometimes almost ruinous to his family, though no longer blackened by the immolation of human victims. Father Charlevoix⁠[81] relates, that stopping, as he descended the Mississippi, at a village of Ouyapes (or Wyapes), the same with the Quapaws (or, as they call themselves, O-guah-pas), then living near the confluence of White river with the Mississippi, he found them in great distress from the ravages of the small-pox. Their burying-place appeared “like a forest of poles and posts newly set up, and on which there hung all manner of things: there is every thing which the savages use.” The men and women both continued lamenting throughout the night, and repeating without ceasing, “Nihahani, as the Illinois do, and in the same tone.” A mother weeping over the grave of her son, poured upon it a great quantity of Sagamitty (or hominy). Another kindled a fire near one of the tombs,⁠[82] probably for the purpose of sacrificing food, as I have seen practised by the Pawnee-Rikasrees⁠[83] of the Missouri.

The aborigines of this territory, now commonly called Arkansas or Quapaws and Osarks, do not at this time number more than about 200 warriors.⁠[84] They {82} were first discovered about the year 1685, by Chevalier de Tonti.⁠[85] From what source Father Charlevoix ascertains that they were very numerous in the time of Ferdinand de Soto, I am unable to learn. In the abridged relation of this expedition by Purchas,⁠[86] cannot possibly discover any thing relating to them. The people of Quigaute must have occupied a country not far from the Arkansa, and are said by La Vega⁠[87] to have been numerous and powerful, but that they were the same people as the Arkansas or O-guah-pas, seems by no means probable. From their own tradition it does not appear that they were visited by the whites previous to the arrival of La Salle; they say, that many years had elapsed before they had any interview with the whites, whom they had only heard of from their neighbours.

In a council held with the Quapaws some years ago, concerning the boundaries of the lands which they claimed, a very old chieftain related to the agent, that at a very remote period his nation had descended the Mississippi, and after having proceeded in one body to the entrance of a large and muddy river (the Missouri), they had there divided, one party continuing down the Mississippi, and the other up the miry river. The descending band were checked in their progress by the Kaskaskias,⁠[88] whose opposition they at length subdued. In their further descent they were harassed by the Chicasaws and Choctaws, and waged war with them for some considerable time, but, at length, overcoming all opposition, they obtained the banks of the Arkansa, where they have remained ever since. Some of them, reverting apparently to the period of creation, say, that they originally emerged out of the water, but made many long and circuitous journeys upon that element, previous to their arrival on the banks of this river.

As their language scarcely differs from that of the Osages, Kanzas, Mahas, and Poncas of the Missouri, it is presumable that these sprung from the band {83} which ascended the Missouri. They say, they remained separated from a knowledge of each other for many years, until mutually discovered on a hunting party, taking each other at first for enemies, till assured to the contrary by both uttering the same language.

They bear an unexceptionally mild character, both amongst the French and Americans, having always abstained, as they say, from offering any injury to the whites. Indeed, to do them justice, and to prove that this opinion concerning them is no modern prejudice, I cannot do less than quote the testimony of Du Pratz,⁠[89] made about a century ago. Speaking of the Arkansa territory, he adds, “I am so prepossessed in favour of this country, that I persuade myself the beauty of the climate has a great influence on the character of the inhabitants, who are at the same time very gentle, and very brave. They have ever had an inviolable friendship for the French, uninfluenced thereto, either by fear or views of interest; and live with them as brethren, rather than as neighbours.”⁠[90] They say, that in consequence of their mildness and love of peace, they have been overlooked by the Americans; that they are ready enough to conciliate by presents those who are in danger of becoming their enemies, but neglect those who are their unchangeable friends.

The complexion of the Quapaws, like that of the Choctaws and Creeks, is dark, and destitute of any thing like the cupreous tinge. The symmetry of their features, mostly aquiline, often amounts to beauty, but they are not to be compared in this respect to the Osages, at least those of them which now remain. Charlevoix says, “The Akansas (as he calls them) are reckoned to be the tallest and best shaped of all the savages of this continent, and they are called, by way of distinction, the fine men.” I question, however, whether this epithet is not similar to that of the {84} Illinois, and the Llenilenape, or “original and genuine men,” as it is translated, of the Delawares.⁠[91] The name of Akansa or Arkansa, if ever generally assumed by the natives of this territory, is now, I am persuaded, scarcely ever employed; they generally call themselves O-guah-pa or Osark, from which last epithet, in all probability, has been derived the name of the river and its people; indeed, I have heard old French residents in this country, term it Riviere des Arks or d’Osark.

They employ artificial means to eradicate that pubescence from their bodies, which is, indeed, naturally scanty. The angle of the eye is usually elongated, but never turned up exteriorly, as it is said, in common with the Tartars, by Humboldt, to be the case with the Mexicans.

Although they may be said to be taciturn, compared with Frenchmen, their passions are not difficult to excite.

As hunters, they are industrious, but pay little attention to agriculture; and pleased by intercourse with the whites, they are not unwilling to engage as boatmen and hunters.

About a century ago, father Charlevoix describes the Arkansas as occupying four villages; that which he visited was situated on the bank of the Mississippi, in a little meadow, which was (in 1819) M’Lane’s landing, the only contiguous spot free from inundation. The people called Akansas by this author, were then made up of the confederated remnants of ruined tribes. The villages which he visited, called themselves Ouyapes, evidently the O-guah-pa. On the Arkansa, six miles from the landing, there was a second village, consisting of the Torimas and Topingas. Six miles higher were the Sothouis, and a little further was the village of the Kappas;⁠[92] these are again the same people as the Quapaws or O-guah-pas.

{85} In the time of Du Pratz, the Arkansas had all retired up the river of this name, and were living about twelve miles from the entrance of White river. They were still said to be pretty considerable in numbers, and had been joined by the Kappas, the Michigamias,⁠[93] and a part of the Illinois. He likewise remarks, that they were no less distinguished as warriors than hunters, and that they had succeeded in intimidating the restless and warlike Chicasaws.⁠[94] Indeed, the valour and the friendship of the Arkansas is still gratefully remembered by the Canadians and their descendants, and it is much to be regretted that they are making such evident approaches towards total destruction. The brave manner in which they opposed the Chicasaws, has long ensured them the quiet possession of their present country. Among the most extraordinary actions which they performed against those perfidious Indians, is the story which has been related to me by major Lewismore Vaugin,⁠[95] one of the most respectable residents in this territory. The Chicasaws, instead of standing their ground, were retreating before the Quapaws, whom they had descried at a distance, in consequence of the want of ammunition. The latter understanding the occasion, were determined to obviate the excuse, whether real or pretended, and desired the Chicasaws to land on an adjoining sand-beach of the Mississippi, giving them the unexpected promise of supplying them with powder for the contest. The chief of the Quapaws then ordered all his men to empty their powder-horns into a blanket, after which, he divided the whole with a spoon, and gave the half to the Chicasaws. They then proceeded to the combat, which terminated in the killing of 10 Chicasaws, and the loss of five prisoners, with the death of a single Quapaw.

I am informed, that it is a custom of the Quapaws, after firing the first volley, to throw aside their guns, and make a charge with their tomahawks.

{86} The treacherous Osages, to whom they are naturally allied by the ties of consanguinity, at one period claimed the assistance of the Quapaws, with the secret intention of betraying them to destruction. Arriving near the scene of action, and discovering, as was said, the encampment of the supposed enemy, the Osages parted from their friends, under pretence of ambuscading the enemy. Their conduct, however guarded, had not, it seems, been sufficient to remove the suspicions of the wary leader of the Quapaws, who now concerted measures of security. The Quapaws made their fires as usual, but secretly left them, in order to watch the motions of the Osages, who, as it had been suspected, crept up to their encampment in the dead of night, and fired a volley near the fires, not doubting but they had destroyed those who had seemingly confided in their friendship. But at this instant, the Quapaws, sufficiently prepared, arose from their concealment, and exercised a just chastisement on the traitors.

The social regulations, as well as the superstitions and ideas of the supernatural entertained by the Quapaws, are no way materially distinct from those which are practised by their eastern and northern neighbours. The most simple testimonies of attachment, without the aid of solemn vows, are thought sufficient to complete a conjugal felicity, which, where all are equal, in wealth and property, can only be instigated through the desire of personal gratification or mutual attachment, and can but seldom be attended with that coldness and disgust, which is but too common, where this sacred tie is knit by avarice. Neither is this contract controlled by any unnatural and overruling policy. The obligation to decorum and the essential ties of society are not abandoned by the Indian, in consequence of his being freed from that perpetual restraint, which appears to have been requisite in civilized society. The father can recall his daughter from {87} the habitation of one who has rendered himself odious to his child. The husband can abandon the wife who has made herself obnoxious to his house and family. They are only united by the bonds of mutual esteem and reciprocal friendship; they will, of course, endeavour to deserve it of each other, as affording a gratification to themselves, no less than to their parents and relatives.

As the marriage is never ostentatious, or strictly ceremonious, so its disavowal, when not induced by any thing flagrant, is not a matter to alarm the repose of society. The male children go with the father, the females attend upon the mother. Children, however begotten, are dear to a society ever on the brink of extermination.

That any ceremonies, more than the celebration of a frugal and sober feast, are constantly practised by any of the natives of this country, is much more than can be satisfactorily proved. Among the Quapaws, I have been informed, that the husband, on the consummation of his marriage, presents his wife with the leg of a deer, and she, in return, offers him an ear of maize, both of which are so many symbols of that provision against the calls of necessity, which they are mutually accustomed to provide.⁠[96]

The young and unmarried women of the Quapaws, according to a custom equally prevalent among many other tribes of Indians, wear their hair braided up into two parts, brought round to either ear in a cylindric form, and decorated with beads, wampum, or silver. After marriage these locks are all unfolded, the decorations laid aside for her daughters, and her hair, brought together behind in a single lock, becomes no longer an assiduous object of ornament. According to the History of the Costume of all Nations, this manner of braiding the hair appears to have been equally prevalent among the women of {88} Siberia, Tartary, Turkey, and China. As an expression of the greatest grief and misfortune, anciently practised by many other nations of the world, I have, amongst the aborigines of the Missouri, not unfrequently seen both men and women shave away their hair. It is not, however, I believe, practised by the Indians of the Mississippi, nor among the Quapaws and Osages.

The ideas of supernatural agency, entertained by the Arkansas, are very similar to those which prevail among the natives of the Missouri. Every family, for example, chooses its penates, or guardian spirit, from among those various objects of creation which are remarkable for their sagacity, their utility, or power. Some will perhaps choose a snake, a buffaloe, an owl, or a raven; and many of them venerate the eagle to that degree, that if one of those birds should happen to be killed during any expedition, the whole party immediately return home. The large feathers of the war-eagle, which they consider talismanic, are sometimes distributed throughout the nation, as sacred presents, which are expected to act as sovereign charms to those who wear them.

The cure of diseases, though sometimes attempted with rational applications, is not unfrequently sought, among the Quapaws, and many other natives of the continent, in charms and jugglery.

As to the future state, in which they are firm believers, their ideas are merely deduced from what they see around them. Their heaven for hunters is at least as rational as that of some of our own fanatics.

For some considerable time after the interment of a warrior and hunter, his grave is frequented with provision, which, if still remaining, after a reasonable lapse of time, is considered as a sure presage that the deceased has arrived at a bountiful hunting ground, and needs no further supply from the earth.

The Quapaws, though no greater proficients in music than the rest of the Indians, have, however, {89} songs appropriated to love, to death, and to battle, but which are merely so many simultaneous effusions of the heart, accompanied by rude and characteristic airs and dances.

It is hardly necessary to detail the dress of the Arkansas, which scarcely, to my view, in any respect, differs from that of the Delawares, Shawnees, or Chipeways. Its component parts are, as usual, mocasins for the feet; leggings which cover the leg and thigh; a breech-cloth; an overall or hunting shirt, seamed up, and slipped over the head; all of which articles are made of leather, softly dressed by means of fat and oily substances, and often rendered more durable by the smoke with which they are purposely imbued. The ears and nose are adorned with pendents, and the men, as among many other Indian tribes, and after the manner of the Chinese, carefully cut away the hair of the head, except a lock on the crown, which is plaited and ornamented with rings, wampum, and feathers. Many of them, in imitation of the Canadian French, wear handkerchiefs around their heads, but in the manner of a turban. Some have also acquired the habit of wearing printed calicoe shirts next to the skin.

The younger Indians, as I am informed, notwithstanding the neglect of renewing their dress, are so partial to cleanliness of the skin, that they practice bathing both winter and summer.⁠[97]