Excursions through the Slave States.

An Englishman by birth, Featherstonhaugh (pronounced FAN-shawe) was the first geologist to the US government. In 1834 he was instructed to examine the country between the Missouri and Red rivers, territory acquired by the US in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. 'A tall, gaunt, fastidious teetotaller, Featherstonehaugh cut an odd figure on the American frontier. His prejudices against the informality, materialism, and cultural backwardness of Jacksonian America did little to endear him to his hosts; his blatant élitism and bullying of subordinates revealed an arrogant authoritarianism based on unwavering faith in the superiority of the English upper classes. A tory and an Anglican, Featherstonehaugh was a complex man of intense feelings who appreciated the beauty of nature and ably recorded the startling variety of life, including the tragedy of the American Indians. Intelligent, observant, and adventurous, Featherstonehaugh successfully changed careers four times despite terrible setbacks. While he found his most work in his latter years as a consul, his fame rests on his pioneering work in the United States as a geological explorer and publicist' (ODNB).