Fire
The effect of frequent burning on the landscapes of eastern Oklahoma is a constant theme in Nuttall’s journal. Fire influenced not only the prairies, but also uplands and forests. On June 15, making his way back to Fort Smith through…
White shooting stars
I spent the afternoon with Jay Randolph exploring Massard Prairie in Fort Smith, AR. Jay is restoring and enhancing some 100 acres of Ben Geren golf course prairie remnants. We also looked at other prairie remnants in the area, at…
Elysium prairies of the Poteau
Nuttall’s journal, May 17, 1819: “The day was delightfully clear and warm…We were again in full view of the two picturesque mountains, the Cavaniol and Point Sucre…Our route was continued through prairies…” “These vast plains, beautiful almost as the fancied…
Brain teaser for Nuttall trekkers
What could this article on the role of elephants in dispersing seeds and generating savanna ecologies have to do with a common local tree that Nuttall describes and we will see? Link Reply from Jacob Dyer: Osage-orange! The fact it…
Point de Sucre
On April 24, 1819 Nuttall continued his ascent of the Arkansas. In the morning, he passed “the hills of Lee’s creek” and at about noon arrived at the garrison at Belle Point (the first Fort Smith). “Rising, as it were,…
The Life Aquatic
While the prairies of the Arkansas and the Poteau river valleys will be a major focus of our Nuttall trek, we’ll also give some love and attention to the river and its vegetation, and to natural lakes (oxbows) and wetlands.…
Cool prairie restoration art
Lovely and very cool prairie restoration art. Check it out at
Nuttall in Oklahoma 2
A few bits to whet your appetite from the journal, as Nuttall is traveling into present-day Oklahoma, up the Arkansas River from Fort Smith: “About breakfast time, we passed the mouth of the rivulet or brook, called by the French…
Nuttall in Oklahoma
Nuttall in Oklahoma–A friend reading Nuttall’s journal said to me “I didn’t know he [Nuttall] spent so much time in Oklahoma!” Perhaps it is the title: “Travels into the Arkansa Territory” that throws people off. In 1819, most of what…
Nuttall at KTC!
