PALMER, Joel (1810-1881)

Journal of Travels over the Rocky Mountains, to the Mouth of the Columbia River; Made during the Years 1845 and 1846: Containing minute descriptions of the Valleys of the Williamette, Umpqua, and Clamet; A General Description of Oregon Territory ... A List of Necessary Outfits for Emigrants; and a Table of Distances from Camp to Camp on the Route

Cinncinnati: J.A. & U.P. James, 1847. 8vo. (7 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches). iv, 9-189pp. First edition, second issue, with corrections made on pages 31 and 121 and without the errata slip tipped in at page 189. This copy with t.p. date altered.

Original sheep. Skillfully rebacked with black morocco lettering piece.

One of the most complete accounts of life on the Oregon Trail.

The tide of overland immigration which engulfed Oregon in 1843 was followed by even larger waves in subsequent years. The overland migration of 1845 was one of the largest, and it produced one of the most complete accounts of wagon trail life, in this work by Joel Palmer. His journal is the only contemporary account by a participant in the 1845 migration, which numbered some 3,000 people. "Most reliable of the early guides to Oregon; in addition, the best narrative by a participant in the overland migration of 1845, which more than doubled the population of Oregon" - Howes Also included in the work is a letter from Rev. Spalding about his missionary work among the Nez Perce, a vocabulary of the Chinook Jargon and the Nez Perce language, a description of Mount Hood, and what Streeter describes as one of the earliest printings of the Organic Laws of Oregon Territory.

Ayer (Chinook) 48; Field 1165; Graff 3172; Hill 1287; Howes p. 47, "c."; Pilling, Chinookan, p.57; Pilling, Proof-sheets 2286; Smith 7886; cf. Streeter Sale 3146 (1st issue); Wagner-Camp 136:2.

Item #40368

Price: $9,000.00