A Journal of Travels into the Arkansa Territory, During the Year 1819. With Occasional Observations on the Manners of the Aborigines

Philadelphia: Thos. H. Palmer, 1821. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. 296 pp, with facsimile folding map (retaining a small section of the original) and five original acquatint plates, bound in modern green cloth with red leather spine label. Title page has a repaired tear, plates are trimmed close at the outer margin, with a small loss to the sky on Plate II. Bookplate of T. Ferdinand Wilcox on front pastedown, early ownership signature (Elizabeth C. Morris) on title page. Toning and scattered foxing throughout. This is one of the most important early travel narratives pertinent to the region, with a considerable amount of valuable material relating to the Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Osage Indians. The account follows Nuttall's route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, down the Ohio River to its mouth, thence down the Mississippi to the Arkansas Post, and up the Arkansas with a side trip to the Red River. Nuttall traveled in the company of Major Bradford from Fort Smith to the prairie country and Red River, and spent some time near the mouth of the Verdigris River. Three appendices are devoted specifically to observations of the Indians, as well as a compilation of meteorological data. The entire volume is 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 Anglo settlement. Graff 3055; Field 1145; Howes N-229; Sabin 56348; Wagner-Camp 19a.