seacoast as far south as North Carolina. In 1810, he accompanied John Bradbury (whose Travels comprise volume v of our series), on the latter's scientific expedition into the Missouri country, described in volume v of our series.
Nuttall returned to Philadelphia early in 1811, and during the succeeding eight years spent his summers in excursions within the area east of the Mississippi, his winters being passed in studying the collections thus acquired. The fruits of these studies appeared in The Genera of North American Plants and a Catalogue of the Species to 1817 (Philadelphia, 2 vols., 1818), for which he personally set most of the type. Just before the appearance of this work, Nuttall, who was already a member of the Linnæan Society of London, was elected to membership both in the American Philosophical Society and the Academy of Natural Sciences, at Philadelphia. To the journal published by the Academy he became a frequent contributor.
Being well acquainted with the cis-Mississippi region, and having already visited the Northwest, he now turned his thoughts to the Southwest. He had long desired to visit the Arkansas country, which still offered a practically virgin field for the scientific investigator.[1] Accordingly, assisted by a number of friends who were likewise interested in science,[2] he prepared for the journey which is herein recorded, and set out from Philadelphia on the second of October, 1818. Crossing southern Penn-*
- ↑ The expeditions of William Dunbar and Dr. George Hunter, who explored the Ouachita as far as Hot Springs in 1804, under a commission from President Jefferson, and of Lieutenant James B. Wilkinson, who descended the Arkansas River under General Z. M. Pike's orders in 1806, were primarily geographical and topographical reconnaissances.
- ↑ This fact, and the names of Nuttall's patrons, appear in the dedication.
