Commerce of the Prairies
by Josiah Gregg
- Used
- Good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Good/No Jacket
- ISBN 10
- 0806110597
- ISBN 13
- 9780806110592
- Seller
-
TORRINGTON, Wyoming, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Josiah Gregg was a sickly intellectual who decided to travel the Santa Fe Trail in order to restore his health. He ended up journeying back and forth along the trail four times in the next nine years, and he compiled Commerce of the Prairies from the experiences of these years as an explorer and trader. It is considered one of the most valuable and interesting chronicles of early American history, and covers a wide range of topics, from buffalo hunting and Indian fighting to gold mining and Mexican agriculture. While this book is used for reference by historians of the old West, it is highly entertaining as an adventure story as well: "...imagine our consternation and dismay, when, upon descending into the valley of the Cimarron, on the morning of the 19th of June, there suddenly appeared before us an imposing array of death dealing savages! There was no merriment in this! It was a genuine alarm -- a tangible reality! These warriors, however, as we soon discovered, were only the vanguard of a 'countless host,' who were by this time pouring over the opposite ridge, and galloping directly towards us..."Along with his own adventures, Gregg relates historical information he has gathered, as well as stories he has heard about other groups of travellers, some of which are quite horrifying:"The forlorn band were at last reduced to the cruel necessity of killing their dogs, and cutting off the ears of their mules, in the vain hope of assuaging their burning thirst with the hot blood. This only served to irritate the parched palates, and madden the senses of the sufferers. Frantic with despair, in prospect of the horrible death which now stared them in the face, they scattered in every direction in search of that element which they had left behind them in such abundance, but without success…[they] would undoubtedly have perished in those arid regions, had not a buffalo, fresh from the river's side, and with a stomach distended with water, been discovered by some of the party, just as the rays of hope were receding from their vision. The hapless intruder was immediately dispatched, and an invigorating draught procured from its stomach."When not in the midst of some exciting exploit, the author is very conscientious about recording the details of custom and costume in the lands he travels through, some of which can be quite entertaining as well as informative.While the author’s observant nature is beneficial to historians and to us as readers, it was not so well appreciated by the members of his expeditions. It is purported that Gregg drove everyone nuts by constantly stopping to take measurements and record observations. The members of one of his parties considered murdering him and depositing his body and his instruments in the river so they could make it to their destination before they ran out of supplies. However, he survived and continued to lead groups of emigrants until he died in 1850 guiding a prospecting party across the Coast Range in winter.
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Details
- Bookseller
- PRAIRIE CREEK BOOKS & TEA LLC (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 021913
- Title
- Commerce of the Prairies
- Author
- Josiah Gregg
- Illustrator
- Drawings & Maps
- Format/Binding
- Soft cover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Reprint Edition
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0806110597
- ISBN 13
- 9780806110592
- Publisher
- University of Oklahoma Press
- Place of Publication
- Norman, OK
- Date Published
- 1954
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall
- Keywords
- Josiah Gregg, Commerce of the Prairies, Santa Fe Trail
Terms of Sale
PRAIRIE CREEK BOOKS & TEA LLC
10 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 10 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
PRAIRIE CREEK BOOKS & TEA LLC
About PRAIRIE CREEK BOOKS & TEA LLC
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Half Title
- The blank front page which appears just prior to the title page, and typically contains only the title of the book, although, at...
- PB
- ...
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...