Nuttall's Journal

Thomas Nuttall was a self-educated botanist who came to the United States from Liverpool in 1808. This 1821 work is the only surviving complete journal of one of his many American scientific explorations. Covering his travels in Arkansas and what is now Oklahoma from October, 1818-February, 1820, the Journal follows Nuttall's route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, down the Ohio River to its mouth, then down the Mississippi River to the Arkansas Post, and up the Arkansas River with a side trip to the Red River. Filled with valuable details on the plants, animals, and geology of the region, as well as penetrating observations of the resident native tribes, the military establishment at Fort Smith, the arrival of the first governor of Arkansas Territory, and the beginnings of white settlement, this is a valuable source of information regarding the land and people in the areas of the Louisiana Purchase.