A naturalist in Indian territory : the journals of S.W. Woodhouse, 1849-50

Woodhouse, S. W. (Samuel Washington) 1821-1904 (Author). Tomer, John S. (John Shaffer), 1917- (Added Author). Brodhead, Michael J. (Added Author).

Summary: In the spring of 1849 young Philadelphia physician S. W. Woodhouse, an avid ornithologist, was appointed surgeon-naturalist of two expeditions, one in 1849 and another in 1850, to survey the Creek-Cherokee boundary in Indian Territory. A keen observer of frontier life and society, Woodhouse wrote down in three journals detailed entries on his travels, including information on the flora and fauna as well as his impressions of the places he passed and their people, notably early Indian Territory personalities such as the McIntoshes and the Perrymans of the Creek Indians; Elijah Hicks of the Cherokees; Tallee and Clermont III of the Osages; and Oh-ha-wah-kee of the Comanches. To aid the modern reader, editors John S. Tomer and Michael J. Brodhead have supplied a detailed introduction and extensive, clarifying notes.

Record details

ISBN: 0806128054
ISBN: 9780806128054
Physical Description: print
xv, 304 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, maps, portraits ; 24 cm.
Publisher: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 1996, ©1992.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-286) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Government Naturalists in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1800-1850 -- The Creek Boundary Expedition, 1849-1850 -- Woodhouse's Indian Territory Natural History Reports -- Summary of Woodhouse's Natural History Work in Indian Territory -- Samuel Washington Woodhouse, 1821-1904 -- Journal No. 1 -- 1849. Ch. 1. From Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., to Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, April 26-June 19, 1849 -- Journal No. 2 -- 1849. Ch. 2. From Fort Gibson to the Verdigris River, June 20-August 6, 1849. Ch. 3. From the Verdigris River to the End of the 1849 Survey, August 7-October 19, 1849. Ch. 4. From the End of the 1849 Survey to Fort Gibson to Philadelphia, October 20-December 29, 1849 -- Journal No. 3 -- 1850. Ch. 5. From Fort Gibson to the End of the 1850 Survey, June 12-September 5, 1850. Ch. 6. From the End of the 1850 Survey to Fort Gibson, September 6-October 8, 1850.