Commerce of the Prairies
by Gregg, Josiah
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Henry G. Langley, 1844. Octavo, original gilt-stamped brown cloth. Two volumes. A clean, bright, un-restored copy in the original cloth: text clean with only light foxing. Scarce and fragile map fine save for one closed tear at the far right hand side, starting at the main horizontal crease and continuing for 2" diagonally upward and to the left; some loss to head and tail of spine of volume I, bindings unusually clean and bright.
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
- The Manhattan Rare Book Company (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 313
- Title
- Commerce of the Prairies
- Author
- Gregg, Josiah
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Publisher
- Henry G. Langley
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1844
- Bookseller catalogs
- History, Culture & Ideas;
Terms of Sale
The Manhattan Rare Book Company
About the Seller
The Manhattan Rare Book Company
About The Manhattan Rare Book Company
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack 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....
- G
- Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...