Wikimedia Commons/Louise Taft
Schoolcraft and Pettibone’s Pioneering 1818 Ozarks Expedition
Two city boys with no woods skills set out to map the wild Ozarks in 1818.
Henry Schoolcraft and Levi Pettibone braved the harsh winter with poor gear, often going hungry as they pushed through unknown terrain. Their luck turned when kind locals fed and housed them along the way.
By late November, they had crossed into Arkansas, floating down the White River past empty Osage camps and lands rich with deer, bear, and even buffalo…