Scenes and Adventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas Part 8

I determined to descend the river from the hunters' cabins at Beaver creek, being the highest location to which a pioneer hunting population had pushed, and with this view purchased a large and new canoe, of about twenty feet in length, from the enterprising hunters. Putting into this such articles from our former packs as were deemed necessary, and some provisions, I took the bow, with a long and smooth pole to guide it in rapids and shoals, and gave the stern to my companion, with a steering-paddle. It was now the 9th of January. Bidding adieu to our rough, but kind and friendly guides, we pushed into the stream, and found ourselves floating, with little exertion, at the rate of from three to four miles per hour. The very change from traversing weary plains and prairies, and ascending steep cliffs, was exhilarating and delightful.

White river is one of the most beautiful and enchanting streams, and by far the most transparent, which discharge their waters into the Mississippi. To a width and depth which ent.i.tle it to be cla.s.sed as a river of the third magnitude in Western America, it unites a current which possesses the purity of crystal, with a smooth and gentle flow, and the most imposing, diversified, and delightful scenery. Objects can be clearly seen in it, through the water, at the greatest depths. Every pebble, rock, fish, or sh.e.l.l, even the minutest body which occupies the bottom of the stream, is seen with the most perfect distinctness; and the canoe, when looking under it, seemed, from the remarkable transparency of the water, to be suspended in air. The Indians, observing this peculiarity, called it Unica, which is the transitive form of _white_. The French of Louisiana merely translated this term to _la riviere au Blanc_. It is, in fact, composed of tributaries which gush up in large crystal springs out of the Ozark range of mountains, and it does not receive a discoloured tributary in all its upper course.

These gigantic springs, which are themselves a curiosity, originate in the calcareous or sandstone strata of that remarkable chain, and are overlaid by a heavy oceanic deposit of limestone, quartz, hornstone, and chert pebbles, which serve as a filtering-bed to the upspringing waters.

Sometimes these pebbles are found to be jasper, of a beautiful quality.

The scenery of its sh.o.r.es is also peculiar. Most frequently the limestone, which has been subjected to the destructive power of the elements, is worn into pinnacles of curious spiral shapes. Where the river washes the base of these formations, a high and precipitous wall of rock casts its shadow over the water. On the sh.o.r.es opposite to such precipices, there is invariably a rich diluvial plain, covered by a vigorous forest of trees, clothed in all the graceful luxuriance of a summer foliage.

If the sh.o.r.es be examined to any distance inland, the calcareous rock is found to exhibit frequent caverns, where the percolation of the waters has produced stalact.i.tes of beautiful forms, or the concretions are spread upon the floors of these caves in curious ma.s.ses.

Often, upon the sh.o.r.es, we observed the graceful doe. At early hours in the morning, the wild turkeys appeared in large flocks, with their plumage glistening in the light. The duck, goose, and brant, often rose up before us, and lighted in the stream again below us; and we thus drove them, without intending it, for miles. Sometimes, perched on some high pinnacle or towering tree, the eagle, hawk, or heron, surveyed our descent, as if it were an intrusion upon their long undisturbed domain.

A few miles below our point of embarkation, we pa.s.sed, on the left sh.o.r.e, a precipitous wall of calcareous rock, on the summit of which I observed the location of the cavern, into the mouth of which I descended some twenty or thirty feet, on my outward journey; and it now seemed probable that the ramifications which I saw by the dim light admitted, were of an extensive character.

As the shades of night overtook us, a hunter's cabin was descried on the left sh.o.r.e, where a landing was made. It proved to be occupied by a person of the name of Yochem, who readily gave us permission to remain for the night. He told us we had descended thirty miles. He regaled us hospitably with wild viands, and, among other meats, the beaver's tail--a dish for epicures.

Resuming the descent at an early hour, a couple of miles brought us to the inlet of Bear creek--a stream coming in on the right side, which is described as long, narrow, and crooked. Nothing denoted that man had ever made his residence along this part of the stream. We floated on charmingly. At every turn, some novel combination of scenery presented itself. As evening drew near, a hunter's cabin appeared on our right, and, a couple of miles further, another on our left, near one of those natural monuments of denudation common to the limestone of this river, which is called the Sugar-loaf. We stopped for the night at this habitation, and found it to be occupied by a Mr. c.o.ker. The old man received us with the usual frank and friendly air and manner of a hunter. More than fifty years must have marked his frontier pilgrimage on its constantly s.h.i.+fting boundary. He stood some six feet three in height, was erect and thin, and looked like one of the patriarchs of the woods, who, cheris.h.i.+ng his personal independence and his rifle, had ever relied upon his own arm for a support, and distrusted nothing on earth half so much as Indians. In his view, the Osages were the perfection of robbers; and he congratulated us on getting out of their country with our scalps safely on our heads, and our "plunder" (a common word here for baggage) untouched. It appeared from his estimates that we had descended the river twenty-five miles.

Rain fell copiously during the night; but it ceased before daylight (11th), by the earliest gleams of which we were again in motion, descending the pellucid river. At the computed distance of sixteen miles, we pa.s.sed the mouth of Big river, a considerable stream on the left banks, where I halted a few moments to see a new location which had just been commenced. A small clearing had been made in the dense canebrake, and a log house commenced. Shortly below this spot, we encountered a river pedlar, ascending the stream with his commodities in a canoe. On conversing with him, I found his knowledge of affairs very local and partial. Of the outer world, and of its news, he knew nothing.

At every stage of our progress, the river was increasing in its volume; and, soon after this occurrence, we observed its velocity accelerated, and almost imperceptibly found ourselves gliding rapidly over the Pot Shoals. This rapid appeared less formidable than had been antic.i.p.ated. I rose up to observe the draught of the current, and, by a few strokes of the pole, kept the canoe in the force of the stream. About seven miles below these shoals, and just as evening closed in, a house appeared on the left sh.o.r.e. It proved to be M'Garey's, at whose domicile we had originally struck on crossing the wilderness from Potosi. He was glad to hail our return from a region, against the Indian occupants of which, he had decidedly warned us on our outward trip, but from whom we had fortunately received no injury. He informed us that we had this day descended the river forty miles, that being the received distance to Sugar-loaf Prairie.

We were indeed cordially received as old acquaintances, and congratulated on our perseverance in visiting a region where Indian hostility was so much to be dreaded. On learning that the Osages had retired west, and that the country abounded in game, one of the sons of our host prepared to push into that region. M'Garey told us that he had delivered "Butcher," agreeably to our order, to Holt; but the latter, on travelling a day's journey toward Beaver creek, had found him too feeble to proceed, and, after taking off his shoes, had abandoned him to the wolves. Sad emblem of the fate of persons who have served great men, till they have reached some pinnacle where the service is forgotten, because no longer necessary!

Nearly opposite, but a little below this cabin, we pa.s.sed, on the 12th, the mouth of the Little North Fork; a stream originating in a broken region on the left bank, and having some alluvions at its mouth.

Evidences of habitation became more frequent below the Little North Fork, which caused me to cease noting their succession in my journal.

Nothing of special interest occurred to mark the day's progress, till we reached, at an advanced hour in the afternoon, the Bull shoals. At this formidable rapid, the river probably sinks its level fifteen or twenty feet in the s.p.a.ce of half a mile. Ma.s.ses of limestone rock stand up in the bed of the river, and create several channels. Between these the river foams and roars. When I arose in the canoe to take a view of the rapid into which we were about to plunge, the bed of the stream appeared to be a perfect sheet of foam, whirling and rus.h.i.+ng with great force and tumult. As I knew not the proper channel, and it was too late to withdraw, the only step left was to keep the canoe headed, and down we went most rapidly. Very soon the canoe leaped on a round rock, driving on it with great force, and veered about crosswise. In an instant I jumped into the water at the bows, while my companion did the same at the stern, and, by main force, we lifted it over the ledge, got in quickly, and again headed it properly. We were, emphatically, in the midst of roaring rapids; their very noise was deafening. The canoe had probably got down six hundred yards, when a similar difficulty occurred, at the head of a second shute or bench of rocks, reaching across the river. In an instant, it again struck. It was obviated by getting into the water, in the same way as on the first occasion; only, however, to put our strength and skill to the test a third time, after which we shot down to the foot of the rapids safely. We had managed neither to s.h.i.+p water, nor to lose a piece of baggage. We were, however, thoroughly wetted, but kept our position in the canoe for five miles below the rapid, bringing us to the head of Friend's settlement. We landed, at a rather early hour in the evening, at a log building on the left sh.o.r.e, where we were hospitably received by Teen Friend, a man of mature age and stately air, the patriarch of the settlement. It was of him that we had heard stories of Osage captivity and cruelty, having visited one of the very valleys where he was kept in "durance vile."

The antiquities and mineral appearances in that vicinity were represented as worthy of examination; in consequence of which, I devoted a part of the next day (13th) to these objects. The neighboring hills consist of stratified limestone. The surface of the soil exhibits some fragments of hornstone and radiated quartz, with indications of iron-ore. At the shoals, traces of galena and calcareous spar occur.

Mr. Friend, being familiar from personal observation with the geography and resources of the country at large, states that rock-salt is found between the south fork of White river and the Arkansas, where the p.a.w.nees and Osages make use of it. It is presumed that this salt consists of crystalline ma.s.ses from the evaporation of saline water. He represents the lead-ores on its north-western source, which we had partially explored, as very extensive.

If, as is probable, De Soto ranged over these regions in his extensive marches between the St. Francis and Arkansas, his exploratory parties may have reached the locality of crystalline salt referred to, and he would have found the buffalo in several positions east of that place.

The antiquarian objects to which my attention was called, afforded the greatest degree of interest. They consisted of pieces of earthenware, some antique fragments of bone, and a metallic alloy, resting in a substance resembling ashes, and also arrow-heads. The metallic alloy, of which Mr. F. gave me a specimen, resembles a combination of lead and tin. But what adds to the interest attending the discovery of these articles, is the fact, that they lie, apparently, below the diluvial deposits, bearing a heavy forest, and at the geological line of intersection with the consolidated rocks.

From the apparent vestiges in this quarter, I am of opinion that De Soto's "Tanico" must be located in this vicinity, and that he crossed the White river near this place. A march west of this point, over a hilly country, would bring him into the fertile valley of the Little Red river, or Buffalo creek--his probable Tula, where his people first tasted the flesh of this animal, and where he recruited his army for a new effort.

These inquiries occupied the morning. It was late before we embarked, and, at some four miles below, we landed on the right sh.o.r.e, at a Mr.

Zadock Lee's, being the first New Englander whom we had met in this region. With him we took dinner. He appeared pleased to see us, and conducted me to see some antique, white, lime-like ma.s.ses, in the earth, near the bank of the river, which had the appearance of decayed bones.

Rumor speaks of some other antiquities in this quarter of the country, in the shape of bricks, concealed by the undisturbed soil; but I saw nothing of this kind. While here, Mr. Lee's son returned from the forest with the flesh of the bear and buffalo, the fruits of his own prowess in the chase, and amused us with an account of his recent exhibition of skill in these departments. We embarked and descended the river six miles, to a Mr. Jacob Yochem's, who received us with hospitality, and added no little, by his conversation, to our local lore.

It was determined, the next morning, (14th,) to loan our canoe, which was a capacious, new, and clean vessel, made from white-ash, to our host, to enable him to transport his hunter products to a market at the mouth of the Great North Fork, leaving our baggage to be brought that way. The distance by water is thirty-five miles; by land, probably not more than eighteen or twenty. By this step, we avoided the dangers of navigating two formidable rapids, called the Crooked Creek and Buffalo Shoals; the former situated fifteen, and the latter twenty miles below Yochem's.

We left our host's at a seasonable hour in the morning, taking a good horse-path; and we walked diligently till near dusk, before reaching our destination. We then had the whole volume of White river between us and our purposed place of lodgment, which was at the residence of a man named Matney. It was the only house within a considerable distance at which shelter for the night could be obtained; and we did not hesitate long between the two alternatives presented to us--either of lying out in the woods all night, or of fording the river, with the depth of which we were not acquainted. We chose the latter, and accordingly prepared for the attempt. At the shallowest part we could find, it was about four feet deep in the channel; but we struggled through, and reached the house just at nightfall, wet and chilly. We were hospitably received, and speedily made ourselves comfortable. We had been told that the distance was fifteen miles; but to us, who had diligently footed it, it seemed more than twenty.

CHAPTER XIII.

DETENTION AT THE MOUTH OF THE GREAT NORTH FORK--NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VICINITY--GREAT BLOCKS OF QUARTZ--IMPOSING PRECIPICES OF THE CALICO ROCK--A CHARACTERISTIC OF AMERICAN SCENERY--CHEROKEE OCCUPANCY OF THE COUNTRY BETWEEN THE WHITE AND ARKANSAS RIVERS--ITS EFFECTS ON THE PIONEERS-- QUESTION OF THE FATE OF THE INDIAN RACES--IRON-ORE--DESCENT TO THE ARKANSAS FERRIES--LEAVE THE RIVER AT THIS POINT-- REMARKS ON ITS CHARACTER AND PRODUCTIONS.

The canoe had not yet arrived, nor was there any tidings of it the next morning; so that there was no alternative, in our present situation, but to wait patiently. I determined to improve the delay by exploring the neighborhood. It is a geographical point of some importance, being the head of the navigation of White river for all large craft ascending from the Mississippi. As yet, nothing but keel-boats have ascended. Between the point of our embarkation at Beaver creek and this spot, the river has a fall of about sixty feet, at four rapids, which do not probably extend over a mile or two in the aggregate. The stream, during the rest of the way, has a fine, lively current, seldom of great velocity, and never stagnates. The Great North Fork, the scene of our former ramblings, enters a short distance below the foot of the Buffalo Shoals, rendering the draught of water practicable, it is believed, for steamboats at all seasons.

I found the pebble-stones and boulders on the margin and bed of the river, which I leisurely examined, to afford a true representation of the formations which had been observed in traversing the elevated and broken surface of the Ozarks. They consist of the various limestones and sandstones of the region, with a partial mixture of quartz rock, red sienite, hornstone, argillaceous rock, and the peculiar, egg-shaped, coa.r.s.e yellow jasper, which appears to have been imbedded in some of its strata. On ascending the cliffs west of the valley, they were observed to consist of the characteristic limestone of the region, in horizontal layers, the upper strata containing impressions of sh.e.l.ls. Very large angular ma.s.ses of quartz rock lie near the bases of these cliffs. Some of the angles of these ma.s.ses would probably measure fourteen feet.

Their position here appears to be quite anomalous, as, from the absence of attrition, they are clearly not of the erratic block group. They appear to indicate a primitive formation near.

The half hunter, half farmer, to whom we had loaned our canoe, came with a number of his companions in the evening, and entered on a scene of merriment, to which, as the cabin had but one room, we were compelled to be unwilling spectators during the livelong night, though, from its character, not partic.i.p.ating at all therein. As soon as there was light sufficient to discern objects (16th), we embarked, rejoiced to get clear of this extraordinary nocturnal scene. About half a mile below, we pa.s.sed the mouth of the Great North Fork, and, some five or six miles further, entered and descended a swift channel, called the Crooked rapids, where there probably has been some slight geological disturbance in the bed of the river, observable in very low stages of water.

At the distance of ten miles more, a sudden turn of the river brought us in full sight of the picturesque, elevated, and precipitous sh.o.r.e, called the Calico Rock. This presents a most imposing facade, on which are observable the imitative forms of fantastic architectural devices.

The wall is quite precipitous throughout. It is the calcareous rock of the region. Its summit is overlaid with ochreous clays of various colors, which, through the action of the elements, have imparted their fanciful hues to portions of the cliff. This abrupt species of scenery is quite peculiar to the American landscape. A still more imposing section of it is presented in the Pictured Rocks of Lake Superior.

Nothing of this kind marks the banks of the Rhine, so much eulogized by travellers; for all its formations partake of the parabolic, or curved lines of the primitive, and the eye is relieved by these gradations; but, in the brusque scenes of the West, the precipices are as marked as if they had been hewn down by some gigantic broad-axe. There are some sections, in keeping with these harsh landscapes, on the Mississippi, along the Missouri sh.o.r.es--less prominently along the Illinois borders, near Alton--and at places in Iowa and Wisconsin; but more characteristic in Minnesota, as the river escapes from its primitive plains, and plunges over the falls of St. Anthony. We descended about thirty miles this day, and found lodgment, at night, at a house on the left bank, occupied by a Mr. Jeffery.

The next morning (17th), on descending five miles, we stopped at a Mr.

Williams's to prepare breakfast, where some persons were gathering to hear an itinerant preacher. Twenty miles lower, we stopped for the night, at a widow Lafferty's.

From the remarks made at the places where we have been entertained by the hunters and settlers on this river, there is considerable dissatisfaction with a treaty[11] made with the Cherokee Indians, by which a part of that nation are a.s.signed a location between the north banks of the Arkansas and the south bank of White river. Many of them, including our hostess to-night, and the M'Gareys, Lees, and Matneys above, have lands in cultivation, with dwelling-houses, stock, and improvements, of more or less value, on the south banks of the river; which, as they apprehend, under the operation of this treaty, they are to relinquish to the Cherokees.

The truth is, the first white occupants of the frontiers, though generally rough men, and without a t.i.tle to the lands they settle on, are the pioneers of civilization; and by thus taking their lives in their hands, and encountering the perils of the wilderness and of Indian hostility, they lay the government under a strong obligation to protect them. The natural hatred of races is such, that they are everlastingly on ill terms with the Indians, and the Indians with them. It is difficult to say which of the two races, during this period of contact, is most suspicious of the other.

The Indians, also, look up to the government with strong claims for justice and protection. The frontier, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, was on and near the Atlantic borders, from Maine to Georgia, and long continued east of the Alleghany mountains. It is already west of the Mississippi river, that mighty geographical highway, which, like a longitudinal line, stretches across seventeen degrees of lat.i.tude, every mile of which will, ere long, be settled and cultivated by the Anglo-American race. As the population presses first on the Indian's hunting-grounds, and next on his cornfields, he flies before the irresistible tide, and takes shelter at some more remote western point.

But he is hardly well seated on his new hunting-grounds--he has hardly begun to reap his new cornfields--when the pioneers of the same race that disturbed him before, are upon him; and again, and again he must fly before the resistless--the uncontrollable tide of migration. It is a providential reflux in the wave of races. It is something to be observed, rather than to be apprehended and understood. It seems to say, that the surface of the habitable earth was not formed for the permanent occupancy of races who rely on the pleasing and exciting uses of the bow and arrow; and that labor, which was, at the first, declared to be the proper condition of man, is destined to sweep away, if it cannot merge in its on-rush, these erratic and picturesque tribes. Where their frontiers will be found, a hundred years hence, the voice of history, looking to the past, may only tell; but this appears more appreciable and clear--that the perpetuation of the race as one of the elements of mankind, must depend, in the sequel, however long that sequel be postponed, on his substantial adoption of the principles of industry, letters, and Christianity. The "tents of Shem," however we may read the prediction, are still to be occupied, if they are not now, by a broad philanthropy, to be merged into those of the higher civilization of j.a.phet. For, the civilization and the moral elevation of man is the great object of revelation; and it appears clear, and conformable to reason, that, where future history is taught in the Pentateuch by figures, it should be figuratively, and not dogmatically, explained.

On leaving Mrs. Lafferty's, in the morning of the 18th, we descended about five miles, and stopped to breakfast at a Mr. Jones's. Rumor had pointed out this place as the locality of a tin-mine. The frontiersmen are greatly disposed to excite each other's imaginations by reports of mines and discoveries, every one of which is fancied to be some new Potosi or El Dorado. Our host was not backward in bringing to me some specimens of his supposed treasure. It consisted of several heavy lumps of the ore called, by mineralogists, iron glance. It had the usual color, great weight, and high metallic l.u.s.tre. He represented it as occurring, in large bodies, about eight or ten miles north of his house, on high lands, at the surface.

We had proceeded some miles on our way, when a large black bear was discovered on the sh.o.r.e. It appeared to be about to plunge in for the purpose of crossing the river, when our presence alarmed it, and the animal, with its usual clumsy gait, betook himself to the woods again.

The clumsiness of this animal's motions seems to be owing to the bluntness of its hind paws, which appear as if, we should suppose, it arose from re-curved legs. The Indians laugh at the gait of bruin. We had encountered this species several times before, and always, as on this occasion, found it disposed to flee.

Fifteen miles below Jones's cabin, we pa.s.sed Harden's ferry, the house being on the right bank; and, two miles further on, we pa.s.sed Morrison's ferry. Continuing our descent eight miles lower, we landed at a place called Poke Bayou, where we were hospitably received by a Mr. Robert Bean. The river had now become a magnificent body of water, still clear and beautiful. We were here within the boundaries of the Mississippi alluvions. No highlands are visible for some distance before reaching Harden's. The river winds through broad, fertile plains, bearing a most vigorous growth of forest trees. The banks are elevated some thirty feet above the water, and, as the stream increases in depth and strength, they become subject to be undermined by the flood. The cane, which is common to the river in its entire length, even to the highest elevations of the Ozarks, is here of a tall and most vigorous growth. It is this plant, I apprehend, more than any other feature, which gives an oriental cast to these alluvial tracts; and I was almost ready, at some points, where the growth concealed the trunks of the heavy forest, to see the hippopotamus and elephant display their clumsy forms. For these, however, we had the buffalo, the cougar, and the bear, whose crackling strength, as they pa.s.sed through these reedy mazes, had, on more than one occasion during our rambles, reminded us of the great muscular power of these boasted objects of hunter skill and enterprise. Often had a fine dog, in the narrations of the hunters, paid the penalty of coming within the stroke of the latter; and we could sympathise with the loss of an animal, which is of the highest value in his pursuits. It is due to this cla.s.s of men to say, that, however rough they are in their manners, we were uniformly received by them with a frank hospitality, which appears to be always a point of honor with them; nor did any of the number, to whom reward was proffered for entertainment, ever condescend to receive a cent for anything in the shape of food or lodging.

The point of our landing was at the crossing of the lower Arkansas road.

About twelve or fourteen buildings of all sorts were cl.u.s.tered together, forming a small village, which is now called Batesville; being the only one which had been encountered since leaving Potosi.

FOOTNOTE:

[11] Treaty of 8th July, 1817. Vide Indian Treaties, p. 209.

CHAPTER XIV.

ANCIENT SPOT OF DE SOTO'S CROSSING WHITE RIVER IN 1542-- LAMENESS PRODUCED BY A FORMER INJURY--INCIDENTS OF THE JOURNEY TO THE ST. FRANCIS RIVER--DE SOTO'S ANCIENT MARCHES AND ADVENTURES ON THIS RIVER IN THE SEARCH AFTER GOLD--FOSSIL SALT--COPPER--THE ANCIENT RANGES OF THE BUFFALO.