William Dunbar was fast becoming one of the finest Naturalists of his era when President Jefferson appointed him to co-head the expedition with George Hunter, a prominent chemist-apothecary.
They led 13 enlisted soldiers, Hunter's 13 year old son, two of Dunbar's slaves and his personal servant on this Expedition which started just North of present day Baton Rouge, Louisianna and followed the Washita River(which empties into the Mississippi River) North passing adjacent to what is now Shreveport, La. and concluding in the Hot Spring Region of what is now present-day Arkansas.
Dunbar and Hunter described an extremely active and vibrant interaction between the European and the Native American population. Hunter and Dunbar also reported many encounters with European trappers, hunters, planters, and settlers as well as fellow river travelers plying the waters of the Red, Black and Ouachita rivers. Their copious notes also portray a region in which these European and Indian inhabitants harvested the abundant natural resources along the rivers and in the lands beyond.
The reports from both men show that the Hot Springs(just West of current day Little Rock) had become an important site for people seeking relief from ailments and infirmities.
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Following in quotes are the Dunbar-Hunter journal entries of wildlife they encountered with elaborations(in brackets) on their encounters by Trey Berry, Pam Beasley and Jeanne Clements who edited the book: THE FORGOTTEN EXPEDITION, 1804-1805; THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE JOURNALS OF DUNBAR AND HUNTER
-"saw many Cormorants and the stately Hooping Crane, Geese and Ducks not yet abundant"(October)
-"found on the bank a young fawn just killed by a Panther, the throat being tore very much"-October-
(The Cougar was abundant in Arkansas, but by the late 19th century, it had declinded drastically due to hunting and loss of habitat. Sporadic reports of sightings continued in Arkanasas and Louisiana into the mid 20th century)
"We arrived at the Military Post originally called Ft. Miro. The Canadian French living here have little ambition(about 5000 inhabitants at the time). they are supplied from the woods during the hunting season with Venison, Bear, Bufflo, wild Ducks, Geese, Swans Turkies, Brandt in greadt abundance"(November)
"The river here spreads out forming ponds which attracts multitudes of wild Geese, Brant, Teal and Ducks"
"Last night a band of Wolves howled in our neighborhood a good part of the night"(December)(plentiful populations of Red Wolves inhabited Arkansas and Louisiana forests prior to the 1830's. Bounties began to be placed on wolf pelts in Arkansas and their decline began to take place. The rapid drop in Wolf populations occurred during the 1920"s and 30"s. By 1930, with wolves gretly depleted, Coyote-Wolf hybridizing began to threaten the existance of Wolves and the pure Red Wolf species was thought to be extinct in Arkansas by the middle to late 1970's)
"One of the men killed a Deer and a Racoon. Plenty of Wild Geese and Ducks, but very shy"
"November 17-The Deer is now fat and their skins in perfection; the Bear also is now in his prime with regard to the quality ofhis fur and quantity of fat which he yields, he has been feeding on pirsimmons, grapes, pawpaws, walnuts, packawns, hickory nuts, chinquapins, beech nuts and acorns"
"In the afternoon, saw the first Swan, which was shot by one of our hunters"(Trumpeter Swans were abundant in Arkansas prior to the 1820's..........By the Civil War, overhunting had dwindled their population...in the 1990's, a few pair returned to Cleburne County..........In 2003, 52 to 55 birds were counted in this area)
"Bears do not confine themselves to vegetable food; he is particularly fond of hogs flesh, but no animal excapes fromhim that he is able to conquer; sheep and calves are frequently his prey and he often destroys the fawn when he stumbles upon it, although he cannot smell the fawn despite his excellent sense of smell; Nature has protected the helpless young by denying it the property of leaving any effluvium upon its tract"(The Black Bear was once so abundant that Arkansas received the nickname "the Bear State"....By the turn of the 20th century, only small number of bears survived in remote areas such as along the lower White River.............note that they are now rebounding in #'s).....(The white tail Deer was also abundant in the State prior to the 20th century.............the last 100 years has seen it restored to former abundance)
"Between 11a and noon, saw an Alligator, which surprised us this late season and this far North"(November 21)
"Ducks, Geese and Turkey are often seen"(The Wild Turkey saw great shrinkage in population during the 19th and early 20th century, but it has been restocked throughout the Arkansas/Louisiana region)
"This afternoon our hunters shot twice at a Buffalo and wounded him severely, the blood flowing as he run; nonetheless he got away"
"Turkeys become much more abundant and less difficult of approach than below, our hunters generally kill some every day(December)
"Some Venison and Turkey were procured by the hunters; altho we have frequently seen tracks and other marks of Buffalo, we are hitherto disappointed in killing any of them"(The Buffalo was plentiful in Arkansas until the late 18th century. As trapping and hunting increased along the rivers, these animals were some of the first to experience decline. The last Buffalo herd in Southern Arkansas was killed in the Saline River bottoms around 1809. Smaller herds survived in remote areas of eastern Arkansas until they were destroyed during or just before the Civil War)
"The great strength(of the Buffalo) enables him to carry off on many occasions several shots without falling; it is necessary to shoot him through the heart to make him fall speedily; we are told that a rifle bullet is by no means certtains of penetrating through the scull into the brain, of if it does, provided the ball reaches into the front or fore part of the brain, the animal will not fall; some even assert that the thickness and strength of the skull with the immense quantity of hair which covers the head will resist the penetration of an ordinary rifle bullet."
"Saw many signs of Deer, Bear, Buffalo and wild Turkies this day(December) but could not get a shot at any of them"
"Our hunters are tolerably successful, bringing in every day abundance of venison and turkies"(January)
"We dined under the shade of some pine and osak trees, upon the wild game of the forest and the reiver such as venison, wild Turkey, bear, cygnet, etc"(January)
"Much game on the river, such as Geese, Ducks, Swans, etc"(January)
"Passed a party of Canadians who been a hunting for Bears of which they had killed about 40 and a couple of Panthers up the Little Missouri River"(January)
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Following in quotes are the Dunbar-Hunter journal entries of wildlife they encountered with elaborations(in brackets) on their encounters by Trey Berry, Pam Beasley and Jeanne Clements who edited the book: THE FORGOTTEN EXPEDITION, 1804-1805; THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE JOURNALS OF DUNBAR AND HUNTER
-"saw many Cormorants and the stately Hooping Crane, Geese and Ducks not yet abundant"(October)
-"found on the bank a young fawn just killed by a Panther, the throat being tore very much"-October-
(The Cougar was abundant in Arkansas, but by the late 19th century, it had declinded drastically due to hunting and loss of habitat. Sporadic reports of sightings continued in Arkanasas and Louisiana into the mid 20th century)
"We arrived at the Military Post originally called Ft. Miro. The Canadian French living here have little ambition(about 5000 inhabitants at the time). they are supplied from the woods during the hunting season with Venison, Bear, Bufflo, wild Ducks, Geese, Swans Turkies, Brandt in greadt abundance"(November)
"The river here spreads out forming ponds which attracts multitudes of wild Geese, Brant, Teal and Ducks"
"Last night a band of Wolves howled in our neighborhood a good part of the night"(December)(plentiful populations of Red Wolves inhabited Arkansas and Louisiana forests prior to the 1830's. Bounties began to be placed on wolf pelts in Arkansas and their decline began to take place. The rapid drop in Wolf populations occurred during the 1920"s and 30"s. By 1930, with wolves gretly depleted, Coyote-Wolf hybridizing began to threaten the existance of Wolves and the pure Red Wolf species was thought to be extinct in Arkansas by the middle to late 1970's)
"One of the men killed a Deer and a Racoon. Plenty of Wild Geese and Ducks, but very shy"
"November 17-The Deer is now fat and their skins in perfection; the Bear also is now in his prime with regard to the quality ofhis fur and quantity of fat which he yields, he has been feeding on pirsimmons, grapes, pawpaws, walnuts, packawns, hickory nuts, chinquapins, beech nuts and acorns"
"In the afternoon, saw the first Swan, which was shot by one of our hunters"(Trumpeter Swans were abundant in Arkansas prior to the 1820's..........By the Civil War, overhunting had dwindled their population...in the 1990's, a few pair returned to Cleburne County..........In 2003, 52 to 55 birds were counted in this area)
"Bears do not confine themselves to vegetable food; he is particularly fond of hogs flesh, but no animal excapes fromhim that he is able to conquer; sheep and calves are frequently his prey and he often destroys the fawn when he stumbles upon it, although he cannot smell the fawn despite his excellent sense of smell; Nature has protected the helpless young by denying it the property of leaving any effluvium upon its tract"(The Black Bear was once so abundant that Arkansas received the nickname "the Bear State"....By the turn of the 20th century, only small number of bears survived in remote areas such as along the lower White River.............note that they are now rebounding in #'s).....(The white tail Deer was also abundant in the State prior to the 20th century.............the last 100 years has seen it restored to former abundance)
"Between 11a and noon, saw an Alligator, which surprised us this late season and this far North"(November 21)
"Ducks, Geese and Turkey are often seen"(The Wild Turkey saw great shrinkage in population during the 19th and early 20th century, but it has been restocked throughout the Arkansas/Louisiana region)
"This afternoon our hunters shot twice at a Buffalo and wounded him severely, the blood flowing as he run; nonetheless he got away"
"Turkeys become much more abundant and less difficult of approach than below, our hunters generally kill some every day(December)
"Some Venison and Turkey were procured by the hunters; altho we have frequently seen tracks and other marks of Buffalo, we are hitherto disappointed in killing any of them"(The Buffalo was plentiful in Arkansas until the late 18th century. As trapping and hunting increased along the rivers, these animals were some of the first to experience decline. The last Buffalo herd in Southern Arkansas was killed in the Saline River bottoms around 1809. Smaller herds survived in remote areas of eastern Arkansas until they were destroyed during or just before the Civil War)
"The great strength(of the Buffalo) enables him to carry off on many occasions several shots without falling; it is necessary to shoot him through the heart to make him fall speedily; we are told that a rifle bullet is by no means certtains of penetrating through the scull into the brain, of if it does, provided the ball reaches into the front or fore part of the brain, the animal will not fall; some even assert that the thickness and strength of the skull with the immense quantity of hair which covers the head will resist the penetration of an ordinary rifle bullet."
"Saw many signs of Deer, Bear, Buffalo and wild Turkies this day(December) but could not get a shot at any of them"
"Our hunters are tolerably successful, bringing in every day abundance of venison and turkies"(January)
"We dined under the shade of some pine and osak trees, upon the wild game of the forest and the reiver such as venison, wild Turkey, bear, cygnet, etc"(January)
"Much game on the river, such as Geese, Ducks, Swans, etc"(January)
"Passed a party of Canadians who been a hunting for Bears of which they had killed about 40 and a couple of Panthers up the Little Missouri River"(January)
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