FAR HEEL HISTORY
By Eric M. I lausc
The French Connection
Л
world- traveling French botanist may have been the first
European to explore the Black Mountains
Of ihe known world in the late
18th cent ui v. no two less similar
places could base been imagined
than the roval gardens of France’s King
Louis XVI and the wild mountains of
Western North Carolina. Yet one Parisian
loved both in a way that bonded the
regions together in history.
Ihe most eminent French botanist evei
to set foot in America. Andre Michaux.
was one of hundreds of European plant
hunters who explored the new country in
an effort to discover previously unknown
flora. In the course ol his 10-year visit to
America, Michaux discovered dozens of
plants and. in the process, became the first
while man to set foot in
the Black Mountains.
Born the son of a
royal «-state manager at
Versaille s in 1716, Mich¬
aux naturally developed
a love of agriculture.
Even while studying the
classics, he devoted
much of his time to
observing and collect¬
ing plant life on the
grounds of the town’s
famous palace.
At age 23. he mar¬
ried. a union that
ended 1 1 months Lite r
when his wife died
during the birth of their
only child. Francois
Andre. In an effort to overcome his grief.
Michaux immersed himself in the stud)' of
boLuiv. interning under the noted French
botanist Bernard de Jussieu.
Lager to apply liis newfound knowledge.
Michaux left on a brief tour of England,
i lie Pyrenees and the Auvergne. He
teturned with several varieties of new
plants, as well as an insatiable desire to
travel.
In 1782. he became entranced with die
prospect of journeying to Persia on a
plant-hunting expedition. After gaining
|X‘r mission from Queen Marie Antoinette,
he departed for tlu- Middle East, where he
spent the next three years.
At the time, a series of vicious wars
between the Turks and Arabs wracked
Persia, and Miehanx soon found himself a
prisoner of the Arabs. They robbed him of
all his equipment, carried him into the
heart of the desert ami nearly sold him
into slavery Fortunately, he was released a
short time later on the hanks of die river
where he was captured. Recording the
event in his diary, Michaux 's only com¬
plaint was that the Aial>\ had stolen his
shoes, making it difficult for him to
Ixitani/e in die hot sands.
In 1785. he returned to Versailles widi a
collection of nearly 1,000 desert plants,
many of diem new to Europeans. He was
received in the king’s court with great
honor, awarded 2.000 livres, and named
the official botanist ol the king’s nurseries
later that year. King 1-ouis decided it
was time to add to his gardens, and
Michaux received his first assignment. By
September 1, he was on his wav to
America, on an extended plant-fiiuliug
expedition with his 1 5-vvar-old son and a
gardener.
With the guarantee of a 12.000 livre
salary. Michaux arrived in New York,
where he intended to set up a
clearinghouse nursery for his collections.
He soon discovered how liarsh New Vrk
winters could be. however, and in May
1781»
relocated to (’.harleston, bought a
tract of land 10 miles north of the city, and
set up his nursery there.
Michaux soon U-r.unc acquainted with
John Fraser, a Scot who had been
Ixibuii/ing in die Southeast for some time
(and for whom the Fraser fir tree was
named). In 1787. they planned a trip tip
the Savannah Rivet to "Indian country."
I liey were not long on the trail, however
when Michaux's horses were stolen. Fr.iset
became frustrated
with the delay and
left the Frenchman
to his own devices.
Uiiintimidated by
the unfamiliar coun¬
try. Michaux contin¬
ued the journey
alone.
Although his diary
is incomplete, app;u-
ently he did reac It
tlu- headwaters ol
the Savannah near
the present-day lx»r-
ders of Georgia.
South Carolina and
North Carolina. His
first trip to the Ap¬
palachians must
have impressed him because he returned
three times.
In February 1788. Michaux left
Charleston for a KHnoutli trip to Florida
and the Bahamas. On his return in May
1789, he received word of the Freuc h
Revolution f< >i the liisi time.
Although he had Ix-en a friend of the
Buncombe was Ihe westernmost county in the state when Andre Michaux set
out for the North Carolina mountains, as shown in this map from 1808.
M*NC
The State. September 1990
15
