PREFACE 



In 1791 William Bartram, a Philadelphia botanist, published 

 an account of his Travels through North & South Carolina, 

 Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Ex- 

 tensive Territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek Confederacy, 

 and the Country of the Choctaws; Containing an Account of the 

 Soil and Natural Productions of these Regions, together with 

 Observations on the Manners of the Indians. The book was 

 promptly reprinted in England and Ireland, was translated into 

 German, Dutch and French, and is still interesting enough to 

 be reprinted in our own day (1928) in Mr. Mark Van Doren's 

 American Bookshelf. During its long life the book has made 

 a strong impression upon discriminating readers, and its influ- 

 ence upon the thought and literature of almost a century and a 

 half is a phenomenon deserving the attention of the student of 

 literary history. While Bartram himself claimed that he wrote 

 his account primarily as a contribution to natural science, to 

 furnish information on " the various works of Nature," on 

 " whatever may contribute to our existence . . . whether it be 

 found in the animal or vegetable kingdoms " (Introduction, p. 

 xiii) , it nevertheless has qualities that have appealed to others 

 besides scientists. Literary men especially have been stimulated 

 by it, and their eulogies have largely prevented the work from 

 sinking into oblivion. 



Coleridge, for example, thought it " a work of high merit 

 every way " and drew from it, for his Biographia Liter aria, an 

 analogy to Wordsworth's genius. Chateaubriand borrowed from 

 it extensively for his works depicting the American scene. Car- 

 lyle asked Emerson if he had read " Bartram' s Travels " and 

 expressed a belief that 'All American libraries ought to provide 

 themselves with that kind of book ; and keep them as a kind of 

 future biblical articles." More than half a century later. Pro- 

 fessor Lane Cooper wrote to the Nation in an attempt to stimu- 

 late the reprinting of " Bartram's fascinating narrative," and 

 still another quarter of a century later Professor John Livingston 



