The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life

by Francis Parkman

Overview

The American historian Francis Parkman (1823–93) published extensively on colonial North America, focusing particularly on the territorial rivalry between France and England. This famous travel diary was written early in his career and originally published in instalments in Knickerbocker's Magazine (1847–9) before appearing in book form in 1849. It enjoyed great popularity, and the 1878 sixth edition, reissued here, was fully revised by the author. The book describes Parkman's two-month journey in summer 1846 along the eastern part of the heavily-used emigrant route, from St Louis to the Rockies and back via Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas. It focuses particularly on a three-week hunting expedition during which Parkman lived with the Oglala Sioux. Parkman's elegant style and colourful descriptions read like an adventure novel, but the book is also a witness to the prejudices of its time about nationality and race, particularly with regard to Native Americans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108032698
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/22/2011
Series:	Cambridge Library Collection - North American History
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	398
Sales rank:	978,352
Product dimensions:	5.39(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.98(d)
Lexile:	1190L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

1. The frontier; 2. Breaking the ice; 3. Fort Leavenworth; 4. 'Jumping off'; 5. The 'Big Blue'; 6. The platte and the desert; 7. The buffalo; 8. Taking French leave; 9. Scenes at Fort Laramie; 10. The war parties; 11. Scenes at the camp; 12. Ill-luck; 13. Hunting Indians; 14. The Ogillallah village; 15. The hunting camp; 16. The trappers; 17. The Black Hills; 18. A mountain hunt; 19. Passage of the mountains; 20. The lonely journey; 21. The pueblo and Bent's Fort; 22. Tete Rouge, the volunteer; 23. Indian alarms; 24. The chase; 25. The buffalo camp; 26. Down the Arkansas; 27. The settlements.