A new and important bibliographical addition to travel and adventure in the American West, this work expands on the basic reference work in the field,
The Plains and the Rockies: A Critical Bibliography of Exploration, Adventure and Travel in the American West, 1800-1865, begun by Henry R. Wagner and continued by Charles L. Camp and Robert H. Becker.
A direct but independent outgrowth of David A. White's 8-volume series, News of the Plains and Rockies, 1803-1865 (Spokane, Washington, 1996-2001), this bibliography contains accounts discovered during the series' development and production which fit the guidelines of Wagner-Camp and Becker, but that were not included in their listings.
Wagner's basic bibliography expanded from 349 items to 700 from its first issue in 1920 to the Becker revision of 1982. This new work adds 120 items to the catalog. The additions proposed emphasize genuine travels, but also include a few historic armchair documents and one piece of fiction. Many are from government documents, some from magazine articles, and a few from the more important and early newspaper accounts. Some promotional tracts are added, as well.
The names of those whose sources are listed include Ezekiel Williams (his pioneering journeys to Colorado), John Ball (his earliest printed account of Oregon settlers), William Walker (the 1833 letter that touched off the Oregon missionary movement), Virginia E.B. Reed (her account of the Donner Party, 1847), Julia Archibald Holmes (her letter on her 1858 ascent of Pike's Peak), Gov. James Douglas (his 1858-62 first reports of the Fraser River and Cariboo gold rushes), Theodore Judah (his 1860 defining document for the Central Pacific Railroad), Charles Farrar Browne (humorist Artemus Ward's 1864 travels among the Mormons), and Lucinda Eubank and Nancy Morton (their 1864-65 captivities).
The Reprints: A sampling of 33 of the 120 additions to the bibliography, judged to be the more important or appealing, is reprinted here in the format adopted by the News of the Plains series, with detailed introductions by the editor. The items reprinted are the best of the shortest accounts. Many of these short items are also of the greatest historical interest, including the first good record of fur hunting in the Rocky Mountains, the first enunciation of the Great American Desert concept, the first government report on the Missouri fur trade, the first tribute to the explorations of Jedediah Smith, the first article on white women crossing the Rockies, the first notice of Whitman's famous winter ride, the first official Mormon confirmation of their intended Western haven, the first word on Aubry's record horseback ride, the first news of the Gunnison and Grattan massacres, and the first reports of American scientific explorations overland to Alaska.
Though independent of the News of the Plains and Rockies series, this volume offers a fine conclusion to the eight volume set, and is designed to complement the series.
The book contains an introduction, annotated bibliography, reprints, appendix listings and index, as well as facsimiles and illustrations. Printed on acid-free paper and bound in maroon linen cloth with foil stamped spine and front cover. Issued in an edition of 1000 copies.
