Though less well known than their peers Lewis and Clark, William Dunbar and George Hunter played an important role in the early scientific exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. While the original goal of organizing a southern counterpart to the Corps of Discovery proved overly ambitious, Dunbar and Hunter provided important geographic information for future explorations and gave the first scientific description of the Hot Springs of Arkansas and Ouachita Mountains.
While Lewis and Clark were being fitted out to explore the northern and western reaches of the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson conceived of carrying a parallel expedition to the south, aiming not only to substantiate the American claim to the territory and better define the boundaries, but to survey the plants, animals, and minerals, the soil and climate, and to assess the situation with respect to Indians and Indian trade. To lead the expedition, Jefferson turned to his fellow member of the American Philosophical Society, William Dunbar, a resident of West Florida since before the Revolution and one of the most respected scientific figures in the Old Southwest.
The decision of whom to name as second in command was more difficult, however, and was resolved only when George Hunter entered the picture. Like Dunbar, Hunter was a Scot by birth and a scientist by reputation. At sixteen, he had been sent to work with a noted druggist in Edinburgh, a trade he continued and after his remove to Philadelphia in 1774. After working with the druggists Christopher and Charles Marshall for a brief period and serving in the militia during the Revolution, Hunter set out on his own, developing a successful wholesale trade in pharmaceuticals and probably, a retail trade as well.
As important as his scientific credentials were to the Dunbar expedition, Hunter's experience in wilderness travel was crucial. In 1796, he embarked on a journey from Philadelphia overland to Pittsburgh, and then along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. His reasons for undertaking this trip may be tied up in speculative interests in western lands, but he recorded that when he reached the furthest point of his journey in St. Louis he was "politely received" by the Spanish governor of Upper Louisiana, Zenon Trudeau, and offered a grant of 1,000 acres if he would agree to settle there. Although there is no indication that Hunter considered taking Trudeau up on the offer, he returned to the west in 1802, traveling as far as Kentucky and taking extensive notes on the wealth of mineral productions in the state, including saltpeter, potash, and lime, as well as iron, silver, and lead, once again suggesting an interest in some form of western speculation. Indeed, Hunter's focus on mineral wealth gave Jefferson some pause in naming him to the Hot Springs expedition. Jefferson informed Dunbar that he was concerned lest an "indulgence" to Hunter's "principal qualifications" might divert the mission to a mere "march for gold and silver mines."
With Jefferson's support, in March 1804 Congress authorized a scant $3,000 to support an expedition to survey the Arkansas and Red Rivers to their sources and define the extent of the Louisiana Purchase in the southwest. Hunter, like Meriwether Lewis before him, was sent to Robert Patterson to learn navigation and to gain familiarity with the scientific instruments he would need on the voyage. After gathering Indian presents and other supplies, Hunter convinced Secretary of War Henry Dearborn to allow him to add his son, George Jr., to the expedition roster, and on May 24 the two left Philadelphia overland for Pittsburgh and then by river to Natchez.
On July 24, a party of 15 staged for the expedition at Dunbar's plantation, the Forest, only to find a few days later that their plans would have to be postponed until the spring due to increasing hostility with the Osages. Yet rather than wait, Jefferson suggested to Dunbar that the expedition be scaled back to a more modest foray up the Red and Ouachita Rivers as far as the Hot Springs -- a prospect that had the double advantage of being ready to go in the fall and, not coincidentally, of better fitting the funds made available by Congress. Thus on October 16, 1804, the party left St. Catharine's Landing and ascended the Red River to the Black River and finally to the Ouachita, reaching the Springs on December 9, 1804. Despite an accident with a pistol in which Hunter nearly shot off his thumb and some troubles with the boats, which had too deep a draught for the rivers, the expedition went off with few incidents. In addition to keeping a careful record of their geographic and natural historical observations, Hunter and Dunbar carried out a series of chemical tests on the waters at the Hot Springs that Jefferson found important enough to include in his annual message to Congress in 1805. They remained at the springs for about a month before returning to Natchez, and by the end of March, Hunter was back home in Philadelphia.
Hunter apparently resumed his trade as a druggist and although he soon decided against participating in the more extensive survey that Jefferson still hoped to see through, Hunter did not sever his relationship with the Old Southwest. In 1809, he and his son undertook a third voyage to Kentucky, and six years later, he and his family relocated to New Orleans. He continued to work as a pharmacist, operating a rolling mill as a side enterprise, until his death in New Orleans on February 23, 1832.
