Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw

Originally published in 1821 in London, England, Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw: from Potosi, or Mine á Burton, in Missouri Territory, in a South-West Direction, toward the Rocky Mountains: Performed in the Years 1818 and 1819 is the earliest first-hand account of life in the Arkansas Ozarks. Written by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, the work details not only the people who lived in the area, but also the geography, plants, and wildlife he encountered during the journey.

Born on March 28, 1793, in Guilderland, New York, Henry Schoolcraft was the son of Lawrence and Margaret Schoolcraft. Schoolcraft fought in the American Revolution and worked as a glassmaker, then studied at Union and Middlebury colleges with an interest in mineralogy before seeking a career in the west. Traveling to the Missouri Territory in the 1810s, he worked to discover mineral deposits. Schoolcraft published View of the Lead Mines of Missouri in 1819, the first book about mining in the American West. In an effort to learn more about the potential resources located in the southern part of the territory, he embarked on an expedition.

Traveling with Levi Pettibone, Schoolcraft departed on November 5, 1818, and traveled southward from Potosi, Missouri; the two men entered what is now northern Arkansas around November 25. The men were ill-prepared for their journey and were constantly on the edge of starvation. As they had little experience with hunting, only by stumbling across food supplies left by hunters or Indians or through the kindness of strangers were the men able to continue their journey. At times, they ate acorns for sustenance.

Moving back into Missouri on November 30, 1818, the men encountered a hunter who led them to the cabin of a family living in the area near Bennetts Bayou. Spending the night with the family, the men received food and purchased some supplies. Reentering Missouri, the men eventually found a cabin on the White River.

After crossing into Arkansas seeking hunting settlements along the White River, the men became lost. They eventually found a house, and the men stayed with the McGrath family and received supplies. Continuing their journey, the men eventually approached the location of modern-day Springfield, Missouri. When they returned to Arkansas in January 1819, the men stayed with the McGraths again and continued down the White River. They arrived at Poke (or Polk) Bayou on January 18 and turned to the northeast in an effort to return to Potosi. The entire journey was completed on February 4, 1819.

The work contains multiple descriptions of the inhabitants of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, often with disparaging language. Schoolcraft recorded that white settlers in the area suffered from attacks launched by the Osage, which led to the theft of materials and occasional kidnappings. Details of the hard lives of the settlers, as well as descriptions of the areas through which the men traveled, make the book an important resource to anyone studying early Arkansas.

After his travels in Missouri and Arkansas, Schoolcraft served as an Indian agent on the Upper Great Lakes and wrote a six-volume work on the history of Native Americans. He died in Washington DC in 1864.

Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw has been republished several times. Several new editions have appeared, including in 1955, 1996, and 2018.

For additional information:
Milson, Andrew J. Arkansas Travelers: Geographies of Exploration and Perception, 1804–1834. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2019.

Park, Hugh, ed. Schoolcraft in the Ozarks, Reprint of Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansas in 1818 and 1819. Van Buren, AR: Press Argus Printers, 1955.

Rafferty, Milton D., ed. Rude Pursuits and Rugged Peaks: Schoolcraft’s Ozark Journal, 1818–1819. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1996.

Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe. Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw: from Potosi, or Mine á Burton, in Missouri Territory, in a South-West Direction, toward the Rocky Mountains: Performed in the Years 1818 and 1819. London: Printed for Sir Richard Phillips and Co., 1821. Online at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journal_of_a_Tour_Into_the_Interior_of_M/dPMMAAAAIAAJ (accessed February 12, 2025).

David Sesser
Southeastern Louisiana University