Excerpts from Thomas Nutall’s journal where he describes “the Magazine Mountain.”
April
6th.] This morning the river appeared rapidly rising to its former elevation, being nearly bank full, almost a mile in width, and but little short of the Mississippi in magnitude. The current was now probably four or five miles in the hour, and so difficult to stem, that after the most laborious exertions since day-light, we were still in the evening five miles below the Dardanelle, having made only about 10 miles from the Galley [today’s Galla Rock]. The low ridge, which originated this fanciful name, in sight nearly the whole day. On the same side of the river, but more distant, a magnificent empurpled mountain occupies the horizon, apparently not less than 1,000 feet high, forming a long ridge or table, and abrupt at its southern extremity. From its peculiar form it had received the name of the Magazine or Barn by the French hunters.
[Some of Nuttall’s observations from the top of Dardanelle Mountain]
7th.] From the summit opened another sublime view of the surrounding country. Again to the south and south-west, I could distinguish three of the four chains of mountains, which were visible from the high hills of the Petit John, and still, to my surprise, distinctly appeared the Mamelle2 [today’s Pinnacle Mountain], though, by water, near upon 100 miles distant, and not less than 60 by land [actually 46], which would appear to argue an elevation more considerable than that which I had at first imagined. The Magazine mountain to the west, though, at first, apparently so near, is not less than 10 miles distant, looking, if any thing, more considerably elevated than the Mamelle, and probably not less than 1200 feet high [1350 feet above the valley]. In this point of view, it appears isolated, gradually descending into the plain, and accumulating in magnitude to the north-west; it here descends rather more abruptly, though the highest point is still to the south, where it appears to rise in broken façades unconnectedly with the auxiliary ridge.
11th.] From the hills in the vicinity of Mr. Webber’s, I obtained a fine view of the Magazine mountain, and now found that it was connected with a range of others, proceeding for many miles a little to the north of west. The side which here presents itself, appeared almost inaccessibly precipitous.
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- “French hunters and explorers named most sites along the Arkansas River in the 1600s and 1700s. However, as waves of new settlers entered the Arkansas Territory, some names changed. In 1819, botanist Thomas Nuttall wrote of his observations as he traveled up the river. Near Dardanelle Rock a prominent landmark was called Magazin for its shape resembling a storehouse. That mountain is now called Mount Nebo. All of the mountains between the Arkansas and Petit Jean Rivers were called the Magazines. As Nuttall continued up river, he wrote that “a lofty ridge appears to the south called by the French the Cassetete, or Tomahawk Mountain.” Later surveyors and mapmakers called it Reveille or Revolee Mountain. Eventually, each Magazine mountain had an official name with the largest of them representing the whole range. (Mount Magazine History)
- I don’t know what Nuttall was seeing that day, but you can’t see Pinnacle Mountain (which he called Maumelle) from the top of Dardanelle Mountain or even from the top of Mt. Nebo. I used Google Earth to look from both perspectives and Petit Jean Mountain blocks any possible view of Pinnacle. In fact, from Stout’s Point on the east side of Petit Jean Mountain, you can just see Pinnacle as a dimple on the other side of other Ouachita mountains.