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Travels of William Bartram

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For years, serious naturalists have treasured their copies of Francis Harper's naturalist's edition of The Travels of William Bartram as the definitive version of Bartram's pioneering survey. Complete with notes and commentary, an annotated index, maps, a bibliography, and a general index, this classic is now back in print for the first time in decades. Harper's knowledge of natural history transforms Bartram's accounts of the southern states from a curious record of personal observation from the past into a guidebook useful to modern biologists, historians, ornithologists, and ethnologists.In 1773 the naturalist and writer William Bartram set out from Philadelphia on a four-year journey ranging from the Carolinas to Florida and Mississippi. For Bartram it was the perfect opportunity to pursue his interest in observing and drawing plants and birds. Combining precise and detailed scientific observations with a profound appreciation of nature, he produced a written account of his journey that would later influence both scientists and poets, including Wordsworth and Coleridge.

Bartram was among the first to integrate scientific observations and personal commentary. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he condemned the idea that nature was simply a resource to be consumed. Instead, he championed the aesthetic and scientific values of an "infinite variety of animated scenes, inexpressibly beautiful and pleasing." From his field journals he prepared a report for his benefactor and a larger report for the public. The former was rediscovered much later and published in 1943; the latter was published in 1791 and became the basis for the modern Bartram's Travels.

436 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1792

About the author

William Bartram

53 books9 followers
John Bartram fathered botanist William Bartram, a son.

American ornithologist, natural historian, and explorer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...

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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Tomislav.
1,093 reviews86 followers
June 27, 2023
William Bartram was an American naturalist and explorer, born in colonial era Pennsylvania. The explorations he described in this book were his most prominent accomplishment. The original title was “The Travels of William Bartram Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the Choctaws: Containing an Account of the Soil and Natural Productions of Those Regions, Together With Observations on the Manners of the Indians.” This was published in 1791, about 14 years after Bartram completed the last of his major explorations of the North American Southeast. His ostensible purpose was to identify and catalog the native life of the region, collecting seeds, samples, drawings, and descriptions for Dr. John Fothergill of London, a philanthropist and a Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the American Philosophical Society. Those journeys were:
1773 - Georgia Colony - Sea Islands, and Augusta
1774 - East Florida Colony - San Juan River, Lake George, and Gulf Coast
1775-1777 – Cherokee Nation in Carolina, and West Florida Colony

I have spent significant time in the backcountry of a couple of the regions he describes, but I am not a naturalist or botanist, so the lists of latin names were lost on me. Even the common names were different from those which I might use for the same plant or animal. Some most familiar examples: Spanish moss is “long moss”, anhinga is “snake bird”, alligator is “crocodile.” Bartram travels from Philadelphia to Charleston to Savannah, where his journeys begin on the colonial frontier at Augusta, and he interacts with native peoples, traders, and the occasional planter. I live in the Sea Islands between Charleston and Savannah, and 250 years ago, he considered this area too settled for his purposes! I traced his travels on maps while reading, struggling with spelling changes and outright renaming of rivers, villages, mountains, and other places, and looking for important locations which simply no longer exist. But as challenging as this read is for a modern reader, it is still a unique and astounding narrative of a land and its native peoples on the cusp of European settlement.

I read this book because my interest was picqued by my completion of backpacking the 100+ mile Bartram Trail (the National Scenic Trail, in Georgia and North Carolina, not to be confused with the 17 mile driving route in Florida with a similar name). The trail route is not identical to his 1775 exploration in the then Cherokee Nation. But the modern trail accesses undeveloped lands, rivers, and mountain ranges that he passed through and near. Some of the original sites are now abandoned, developed, or under the waters of Lake Keowee. Rather than wait for a local guide, he often went solo. As a solo backpacker, I’ve probably had an experience as similar to Bartram’s as is possible in this time. I am certain that I have stood on some of the same spots he describes.

His observations of Muscogee, Seminole, and Cherokee peoples, while obviously demonstrating his colonial prejudices, are still a precious record. I suppose the book is not the window into history that it might have been. On his third journey, he set out in 1775, before the Declaration of Independence, and returned in 1777, afterwards, but he makes no mention of the American Revolutionary War, even though some of the lands changed hands while he was in them. However, unusually, for his 1777 return, he seeks out protection while crossing West Florida – maybe because the Muscogee (Upper Creek) Nation was aligned with England. And then, unusually, he follows a land route from Charleston back to his home in Pennsylvania – maybe because the Atlantic coastal waters were controlled by the British Navy. Britain aggressively invaded the Southeast starting in 1778, and Bartram made no further journeys in the area. Clearly, Bartram considered this a work of science, not of history. It’s only now, 250 years later, that we think of it that way.

The edition I read (Pantianos Classics), did not contain any of his original illustrations. Part of his early fame was due to the quality of his drawing. I think I would have better recognized some of the specimens from a drawing, than from his verbal descriptions. My mistake in selecting an edition, don’t you make it.

So, I’m not going to recommend this book to general reading. Even ten years ago, when I lived elsewhere, it would have been superfluous to me. But for just the right reader, this is unique and unparalleled. How to rate it, though? 5 for me, but maybe not for you.
Profile Image for Steve.
439 reviews1 follower
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March 11, 2022
As with other naturalists writing of the pre-industrial Americas, Mr. Bartram notes an abundance of varied plant and animal life. Today, what has survived is a paltry reflection of what once was, much now simply gone forever, seemingly passing without anyone’s notice. Mr. Bartram’s commentary on alligators is especially descriptive; they do not make for a good night’s rest when camping nearby, he reports. It’s difficult to read his words without realizing the great harm our society has brought to the environment, not to mention the indigenous peoples. Since the Indians also practiced slavery and inter-tribal warfare, it’s challenging to find the high ground, though.
The Indians make war against, kill and destroy their own species, and their motives spring from the same erroneous source as they do in all other nations of mankind; that is, the ambition of exhibiting to their fellows a superior character of personal and national valour, and thereby immortalizing themselves, by transmitting their names with honour and lustre to posterity; or in revenge of their enemy, for public or personal insults; or lastly, to extend the borders and boundaries of their territories.
I noted that while Mr. Bartram’s travels spanned the years from 1773 to 1777, there is not a single reference to the conflict with Great Britain. I also noted that Mr. Bartram had a prodigious understanding of botany; he appeared to catalogue every new plant he encountered along his journey, even when dodging hungry alligators.
Profile Image for Graychin.
836 reviews1,823 followers
October 30, 2014
Just about the time the American colonies were forcibly dissolving the political bands which had connected them to England, William Bartram was running around the wilds of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida looking for undiscovered plants and making sketches of alligators. His father, John Bartram of Philadelphia, was a noted naturalist and proprietor of a profitable nursery that supplied New World trees, shrubs and flowers to Old World gardens (read more about him in Andrea Wulf's The Brother Gardeners). As the youngest son, William had struggled through several failed business ventures before he finally determined (to his father’s dismay) to seek his fortune as a writer on natural history. Travels is the fruit of that determination. It’s a charming book, really, full of rich (and sometimes fanciful) observations. Bartram was a Romantic. He paints in the colors of Eden. All of life, the natural world and the world of men, seems to have been an astonishment to him. His language is clear and pleasant but occasionally suffers from indulgence. Of particular note, however, are his reflections on the Creek and Seminole tribes of Georgia and Florida, on mayflies, and on the alligators that, to hear him tell it, nearly cut his life rather short on several occasions.
Profile Image for Elizabeth .
734 reviews4 followers
June 7, 2020
Let me preface my review by stating that this is not for everyone. I can visualize heads drooping and eyelids closing as the reader scans through botanical lists. However, for the reader who wonders what the southern American landscape was like in the 1770s, largely unpopulated, this is a treat. It is amazing that Bartram and his father, even earlier, were able to trek, by canoe, horse and foot, hundreds of miles across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, through lands populated by bear, alligator, snake, and sometimes unfriendly tribes, to canvas the plant and animal populations.
On the subject of Indians, Bartram is surprisingly 21st century in admiration of the various tribes, their culture, farming and hunting methods, ethics, ceremonies and religions. His descriptions of the life of Cherokees, Seminoles, Chicasaws, Chactaws , Muscoguleges and other tribes lost to history is interesting and historically important.
You may want to skip some of the botanical lists of lLatin names of plants; nerd that I am, I looked up the ones I didn't know, and found the extinction of Franklinia alatamaha, save for in his garden in Philadelphia (and seeds you can purchase), fascinating. The attack by alligators is exciting as well; I have boated down the St. John's river in Florida, and would not really like to do it in a canoe.
All in all, an interesting non-fiction read.
Profile Image for Perry Eury.
13 reviews
February 15, 2021
I live just a few miles from some of the places that William Bartram visited for his classic book, “Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida…” published in 1791. It is a sublime joy to see my own neighborhood through the eyes of that great naturalist and writer.

“Travels” rates five stars in any format, but I strongly recommend the Naturalist’s Edition edited by Francis Harper. The introductory essay, detailed commentary on each stage of Bartram’s journey, an annotated index providing useful details on the flora, fauna, people and places, and a lengthy list of maps and references add up to more pages than Bartram’s account itself. All of that supplemental material is invaluable for appreciating the record that Bartram left.

The Naturalist’s Edition came out in 1958, and the locales traversed by Bartram have undergone sweeping change in the subsequent 60 plus years. So, anyone endeavoring to follow in the footsteps of William Bartram should consult some additional resources.

The Bartram Trail, in North Georgia and Western North Carolina, is a well-maintained hiking trail providing opportunities for day hikes and multi-day backpacking trips. Several volunteer groups help with trail maintenance and offer various trial guides and maps. While the designated Bartram Trail coincides with Bartram’s original route in some locations it is, at best, an approximation.

I am familiar with two full-length volumes, covering Bartram’s entire path through the Southeast and aimed at contemporary travelers.

The first is a 2003 book, “An Outdoor Guide to Bartram’s Travels,” by Charles D. Spornick, Alan R. Cattier, and Robert J. Greene. The guide contains dozens of maps indicating where Bartram’s trail can be explored via “foot, canoe, bicycle, horseback and car.” The structure of the book is based on Bartram’s five trips in the Southeast: initial explorations along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia and the Savannah River basin, his voyage to East Florida, his journeys to Cherokee Country and the Gulf Coast, and his return to Philadelphia.

Each section of book includes an overview of the historical context for the places Bartram explored. The guide goes on to describe national forest recreation areas, state parks and historic sites of interest to the modern visitor. The book is nicely illustrated and contains a helpful index.

Another book on my shelf is “Guide to William Bartram’s Travels, Following the Trail of America’s First Great Naturalist” by Brad Sanders (2002). His introduction and profile of William Bartram is concise and engaging, with valuable sidebars and sketches of Bartram’s circle of acquaintances. Especially welcome is a two-page chronology of Bartram’s travels in the Southeast.

In the more than thirty chapters that make up the book, historic context is provided for each of the regions that Bartram explored. Each chapter includes brief descriptions of recreation areas, historic sites and natural features, highlighted and formatted in a way that makes the book a real pleasure to browse.

Of the two books, “An Outdoor Guide” has a slightly more narrow focus on Bartram’s itinerary, and is probably a more handy choice to toss in the car for a day trip to a Bartram locale.

On the other hand, “Guide to William Bartram’s Travels” takes a broader view of the places to go and things to see within proximity to Bartram’s route. It is visually appealing and almost encyclopedic in the range of information it conveys, a helpful accompaniment to what could become a multi-week meander through “Bartram country.”
Profile Image for Anna.
76 reviews
November 15, 2017
I read this book because it features so prominently in one of my all-time favorite stories/book/movie, Cold Mountain.
It was all right. I liked reading about his adventures and discoveries and thoughts that crossed his mind about people and places; I did not like the way he would list off a dozen botanical species’ latin names in a row, nor his penchant for attributing all the wonder and beauty to god.
Profile Image for Jeffrey Wade.
Author 1 book11 followers
April 8, 2023
This is a gorgeous book, written in a vastly different time. Bartram's prose is often quite flowery and he dwells long on lists of species he runs across (which might bore the casual reader) but he offers a portrait of a Southeast that has utterly vanished from the face of the earth -- multicultural, unspoiled, and mysterious. It's a world where Spanish, Muskogee, Hitchiti, English, French, the trade language Mobilian and various African language are spoken and cultures collide in a Georgia and Florida wilderness containing cougars, wolves, and many other animals that have vanished from the region.

He describes his encounters with the Creeks, Seminoles and other Native peoples in great detail and from his descriptions of the landscapes he encounters--full of abandoned mounds and groves--it is quite evident there was once quite a bit more. He also dwells most lovingly on the flora and fauna. His account of a ride up the St. John's River in Florida is harrowing, with one account of a group of alligators approaching his primitive little camp on an island in the swamp as he tried to sleep with a deluge of rain pouring from the sky.
Profile Image for Mike.
122 reviews3 followers
December 29, 2018
Shortly before and during the American Revolution, William Bartram of Pennsylvania toured through Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, and the Floridas, collecting natural history samples and taking detailed notes of the geology, geography, ecology, and ethnography of the lands he traveled through. At times, it's just tedious lists of plant communities, but at other times, he is giddy and joyful, as he explores this vibrant land.
Profile Image for Allison Gray.
176 reviews5 followers
February 3, 2022
This was a slog for me, reading it for one of my book clubs. But! I can say that I appreciated this 18th century naturalist's encyclopedic knowledge of flora and fauna, and it was touching to see his absolute wonder and awe about the natural world shine through the writing. It did not balance out the jarring nature of his admiring (verging on romanticizing) views of Native peoples alongside his callous disregard for Black enslaved people.
Profile Image for Kassie.
161 reviews11 followers
September 10, 2018
William Bartram is the Bob Ross of 18th-century survival/travel literature.
Profile Image for Andy.
51 reviews
Read
March 7, 2017
Travelogue of the American naturalist and poet William Bartram. He explores Georgia, Florida, and the gulf coast, meeting native Americans and early plantation owners, and generally revels in the beauty of the natural world (with hilariously long-winded and rosey-eyed passages). Only a few moments of excitement.
Profile Image for Josh.
21 reviews2 followers
January 3, 2013
I'll start by stating that any potential reader of this book should probably have a real love for the subject/content within if you want to finish it. Those things alone are worth 4-5 stars but, unfortunately, they aren't enough to overcome a rather boring read.

I really struggled to get through all 700+ pages and I actually love the material and have done many miles on the Bartram Trail. I'd really been looking forward to reading this, but I just felt no connection with him and it felt so impersonal. I somewhat understand why it's that way but it just wasn't enough. Since I'm a sucker for punishment, I'm sure I'll reread it at some point and maybe it'll be more enjoyable at that time, but, as it is now, this book is just great reference material for me. ((shrugs))
Profile Image for Henry Veggian.
Author 7 books1 follower
December 18, 2015
Bartram's book captures, as no other colonial American book does, the transition from Enlightenment neo-classicism to early Romanticism. Every so often Bartram pauses to offer a panoramic view, a habit that anticipates the novels of Cooper. It's clear to see also why Coleridge admired Bartram's book - the early paragraph on the "sublime" in the Travels might be said to anticipate much 19th century writing. In all, this is a remarkable, under-appreciated work that is deceptively easy to read; the more carefully it is examined, however, the greater the treasure it yields.
Profile Image for Christy.
Author 6 books441 followers
August 14, 2007
Despite my interest in nature writing and travel narratives, I hated this book. In fact, my boredom with this book was such that when I saw the movie Cold Mountain not long after reading Bartram, the most unbelievable part of the whole movie (and there were many things that were hard to believe in this movie) was that, upon being given a copy of this book, people actually enjoyed it.
Profile Image for Humphrey.
617 reviews23 followers
February 17, 2016
Bartram's a pretty fun dude. Idiosyncratically perceptive when it comes to natural life, communities in nature, and the "volition" of animals and plants, this text is also fascinating for its historical context: the dissolution of colonialism and the rise of the national era, after a wave of indigo and rice plantation failures.
Profile Image for Fred  Parker.
67 reviews19 followers
March 21, 2018
This is one of those books I couldn't put down. The descriptions of the St. John's River in Florida are particularly interesting to me since I live nearby and have traveled on these very same waters. Some stretches of the river probably look very much the same now as they did back then - at least I'd like to think so.
Profile Image for Amanda.
41 reviews
October 15, 2007
He's a bit sentimental, but a must-read for Floridians. Check out this great description of the crocodile: " Clouds of smoke issue from his dilated nostrils. The earth trembles with his thunder." !!! How can you beat that?
Profile Image for Krista.
358 reviews
Read
July 5, 2012
I couldn't get into this one. I didn't last very long, just a couple of chapters. I know that there's good stuff here (I've read some great quotes out of this book), but couldn't get past the sentences that went on for pages to find it. I don't think that I even read enough to rate it.
7 reviews
August 18, 2014
Not a book to read at one sitting but a great reference that provides insight into historical natural history. Also, remember that this book is a collection of field notes and observations. It is depressing to read about the clarity of streams that now are muddy, never to be clear again.
17 reviews
March 29, 2010
Interesting for cross referencing, and some unique naturalist insights into particular regions/dates. On a whole, not sure if I would visit this one again.
Profile Image for John.
224 reviews
April 14, 2015
An interesting look at exploration of New America in the 1770's. Bartram's inventory of geography and anthropologic finds is an entertaining record of the times.
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