POTOSI alias Mine à Burlon.
SCENES
AND
ADVENTURES
IN THE
Semi-Alpine Region
OF THE
OZARK MOUNTAINS OF MISSOURI
AND ARKANSAS,
WHICH WERE FIRST TRAVERSED BY DE SOTO, IN 1541.
BY HENRY ROWE SCHOOLCRAFT.
PHILADELPHIA:
LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.
1853.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by
HENRY ROWE SCHOOLCRAFT,
in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court for the District of Columbia.
Dedication.
To the Memory
OF
DE WITT CLINTON,
LATE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, &C. &C. &C,
AN EARLY FRIEND, DURING THE YEARS DEVOTED TO THESE EXCURSIONS
INTO THE GREAT AREA OF THE WEST;—
A MAN WHO WAS EMINENT IN VARIOUS WALKS OF LIFE;—
WHO, BY HIS EXALTED FORECAST, WISE COUNSELS, AND STEADY POLICY,
CONTRIBUTED TO THE HIGHEST BENEFITS AND RENOWN OF HIS
NATIVE STATE;—
THESE RECORDS OF INCIDENTS OF EXPLORATORY TRAVEL,
ARE DEDICATED WITH THE SINCEREST SENTIMENTS OF RESPECT AND REGARD
FOR HIS CHARACTER AND NAME,
WHICH I EVER ENTERTAINED FOR HIM WHILE LIVING,
AND CONTINUE TO CHERISH NOW THAT HE IS DEAD.
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
PREFACE.
These early adventures in the Ozarks comprehend my first exploratoryeffort in the great area of the West. To traverse the plains andmountain elevations west of the Mississippi, which had once echoed thetramp of the squadrons of De Soto—to range over hills, and throughrugged defiles, which he had once searched in the hope of finding minesof gold and silver rivalling those of Mexico and Peru; and this, too,coming as a climax to the panorama of a long, long journey from theEast—constituted an attainment of youthful exultation andself-felicitation, which might have been forgotten with its termination.But the incidents are perceived to have had a value of a different kind.They supply the first attempt to trace the track of the Spanishcavaliers west of the Mississippi. The name of De Soto is inseparablyconnected with the territorial area of Missouri and Arkansas, which hewas the first European to penetrate, and in the latter of which he died.
Four-and-thirty years have passed away, since the travels here broughtto view, were terminated. They comprise a period of exciting andstartling events in our history, social and political. With theoccupancy of Oregon, the annexation [Pg vi]of Texas, the discoveries inCalifornia, and the acquisition of New Mexico, the very ends of theUnion appear to have been turned about. And the lone scenes andadventures of a man on a then remote frontier, may be thought to havelost their interest. But they are believed to possess a more permanentcharacter. It is the first and only attempt to identify De Soto'smarch west of the Mississip