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Commerce of the Prairies: Or the Journal Santa Fe Trader, During Eight Expeditions Across the Great Western Prairies, and a Residence of Nearly Nine Years in Northern Mexico. Illustrated with Maps and Engravings. [Volumes I and II].
by Gregg, Josiah
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Moab, Utah, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Two volume set. New York, Henry G. Langley, 1844. First Edition, First Issue. 12vo. [v]-320; [iii]-318pp. Hardcover. Very Good. Green variant binding, complete with maps and plates; both volumes are housed in modern clamshell boxes. Previous owner’s bookplate on front pastedown. In much better condition than usually seen. Boards have light wear and soiling; text block has moderate foxing and plates have toning; map has a 4” tear, repaired with archival tape, but is otherwise clean and bright. A cornerstone account of the trans-Mississippi West and Santa Fe Trail history. “Born in Tennessee, Josiah Gregg set out for Santa Fe in 1831 to recover his health, and afterward he became an active trader on the Santa Fe Trail for the next decade. Largely self-educated and an acute observer, Gregg made detailed notes on many facets of his experience” (Wagner-Camp). The folded map, titled “A Map of the Indian Territory, Northern Texas and New Mexico Showing the Great Western Prairies” is described by Wheat as “a cartographic landmark. ” Howes G-401. Wagner-Camp 108: 1. .
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
- Back of Beyond Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 021021
- Title
- Commerce of the Prairies: Or the Journal Santa Fe Trader, During Eight Expeditions Across the Great Western Prairies, and a Residence of Nearly Nine Years in Northern Mexico. Illustrated with Maps and Engravings. [Volumes I and II].
- Author
- Gregg, Josiah
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Back of Beyond Books
Biblio member since 2022
Moab, Utah
About Back of Beyond Books
Located in the heart of the desert southwest Back of Beyond Books is an indie bookstore in Moab, Utah. The name of the store was drawn from one of Edward Abbey's most well-known fiction titles, The Monkey Wrench Gang. We specialize in natural history, environmental literature, southwestern guidebooks & maps, Native American books, and Western history. But we also carry a wild assortment of fiction, science, philosophy, current affairs, rare books, and generally other cool stuff.
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