When all allowances have been made, much carelessness is evident in the explorations of the Long expedition. The bewilderment of Bell's party was inexcusable in men of science possessing instruments for determining latitude and longitude; their geographical errors to some extent nullified their observations of natural features. Cimarron River, the most important tributary of the Arkansas next to the Canadian, they missed entirely, and the relative size and location of the tributaries of the Arkansas remained uncertain for years after. Upon beginning the descent of the Arkansas they travelled two hundred miles without, so far as James's Account shows, making a note on geography or topography; but possibly some allowance for this omission should be made because of the theft of manuscripts by the deserters. Of the itinerary of the expedition from the Platte to the Canadian, it has been said, "It would be scarcely possible to find in any narrative of Western history so careless an itinerary, and in a scientific report like that of Dr. James it is quite inexcusable."[10] To the account of the country traversed by the expedition, James added information relative to portions of Arkansas and Louisiana, much of which was already accessible to the public through the reports and writings of Hunter and Dunbar, Sibley, Darby, Stoddard, Schoolcraft, and others. However, this portion of James's narrative also draws data from Major Long's manuscript[pg024] journals, not elsewhere available, and gives the only account of the attempted exploration of Red River under Captain Richard Sparks, based on the memoranda of members of the expedition.
After all criticisms have been urged to the utmost, the work of the expedition was, and is, of considerable value. The exploration of the Canadian River was an important contribution to American geography. It was thenceforth evident that the sources of the Red must be looked for farther south than had previously been supposed, although a generation was to elapse before their discovery. Otherwise, the exploration added greatly to the knowledge of a portion of the country but imperfectly known through hunters and traders. Especially is this true as regards details relative to natural history and ethnology; for the work was done in the spirit of modern scientific investigation, and in this respect anticipated later expeditions, for which American public sentiment in 1820 was hardly ripe. The collections included more than sixty skins of new or rare animals, several thousand insects, of which many hundreds were new, nearly five hundred undescribed plants, mineral specimens, many new species of shells, numerous fossils, a hundred and twenty-two animal sketches, and a hundred and fifty landscape views. While not primarily designed as a scientific report on these collections, James's Account gives in the form of notes[11] much of the more important information derived from them. Perhaps no other portions of the work, however equal in value those devoted to the aborigines;[pg025] as an authoritative source of knowledge of the sociology of the Kansa and Omaha tribes, the Account has no rival.
Soon after his return from the Rockies, Major Long was sent upon another expedition, this time to the sources of the St. Peter's (now Minnesota) River. This enterprise was contemplated by the original instructions issued to Long at the time of the Yellowstone project; but the subsequent abandonment of the latter compelled alterations in the programme of the scientific division. As in the case of the first journey, the report of the St. Peter's exploration is the work of another person—William H. Keating, author of Long's Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River, Lake of the Woods, etc. (Philadelphia, 2 vols., 1824).
For these several explorations, Long was breveted lieutenant-colonel. In 1827 he assumed charge of the survey of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and for many years thereafter was much engaged in railroad engineering. His Railroad Manual (1829) was the first original treatise on railroad building published in this country. Upon the organization of the Topographical Engineers as a separate corps (1838), he became a major; later (1861) he was made chief of the corps, with the rank of colonel. He was retired from active service in 1863, still being entrusted with important duties, which were interrupted by his death, occurring at Alton, Illinois, the following year.
After the publication of his account of Long's expedition, Dr. James received an appointment as army surgeon, and was on the frontier for six years, which he utilized in studying Indian dialects; during this period he translated the New Testament into the Chippewa tongue (1833), and published The Narrative of John Tanner (New York,[pg026] 1830), the story of a child who had been stolen by the Indians, and became a well-known interpreter. Resigning his army post (1830), James became associate editor of the Temperance Herald and Journal, at Albany; later (1834) he removed to Iowa, and settled (1836) as an agriculturist near Burlington, where he died in 1861.
In the preparation for the press of this reprint of James's Account, the Editor has had throughout the assistance of Homer C. Hockett, B.A., instructor in history in the University of Wisconsin.
R. G. T.
Madison. Wis., March, 1905.
Part I of James's Account of S. H. Long's Expedition, 1819-1820
Preliminary Notice reprinted from Volume I of Philadelphia edition, 1823. Text reprinted from Volume I of London edition, 1823.