Miscellanies. No. I. Containing A Tour on the Prairies Classics of the Old West series).

Alexandria, Virginia:: Time-Life Books, 1983.. Reprint Edition.. Hardbound . BINDING/CONDITION: from a uniformly bound series: dark brown bonded leather with gilt text, stamped decoration on the front cover, all edges gilt, ribbon place marker; Very Good+ condition.. 8vo (8.5 inches tall) . Marbled endpapers. Description: This is a volume from the Time-Life Classics of the Old West series, and is a facsimile reprint of the original 1835 edition Irving, an 'artist with the pencil' gives a vivid account of an expedition to the country west of Arkansas set aside for emigrating Indians. Includes a map. Irving was the first professional writer to write about the west. He kept a daily record of their ten week excursion to the 'Far West', by which he meant present-day Oklahoma. On his return he wrote this record from his chronicle. His vivid description of the rivers, plains, and forests on the journey are unparalleled in Western writing. Even more valuable is his reporting on life among the carefree U.S. Army Rangers, with whom the party traveled for protection, and what he says about the Indians they encountered. This is one of the few firsthand accounts of frontier life in the early nineteenth century, and a prime source for understanding the relations between Indian and whites before their competition for land brought on warfare. (Listed in: South of Forty Number 2029; Howes I86). Includes the publisher's insert.