Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River, Lake Winnipeek, Lake of the Woods, &C.; Performed in the Year 1823 by Order of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, Under the Command of Stephen H. Long, U.S.T.E.

London: Geo. B. Whittaker, 1825. First English Edition. Very good. Two volumes; 8vo, 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches (220 x 140 mm) Vol. 1: pp. xvi, 458; Vol. 2: pp.vi, +248 + [156] Appendix. Contemporary half calf with marbled boards, five raised bands, gilt ruling, decorative motifs, and title on black morocco label; spine, hinges and edges rubbed, front hinge of Volume 1 cracked internally ; t.e.g., rest uncut. Pages are bright and bindings tight; light foxing on a few pages and typical offset opposite plates.

Vol. 1 includes 3 copper engravings etched by R. Fenner, a large folded map, 12 3/8 x 21 in. (313 x 534 mm) engraved by R. Penny (2 inch tear to one fold, otherwise solid, and some offset) and a page of sheet music with "Dog Dance of the Sioux" and "Chippewa Scalp Dance". Map of the Country Embracing the Oute of the Expedition of 1823, Commanded by Major S.H. Long. Vol. 2 includes 4 engravings by R. Fenner (2 of waterfalls, and 2 of shells), plus 3 fold-out calendars and a 9-page "Vocabulary of Indian Languages" in the Appendix.
Bookplate of William B. Claflin Jr. in both volumes, with ink inscription "Legacy Grace E. Reed, Dec. 20, 1921".

[Sabin 37137; Howes 5570; Field 949]. The book is dedicated to James Monroe, 4th President of the United States, and its outstanding plates depict Native Americans, their environment and customs. « The work is almost a cyclopædia of material, relating to the Indians of the explored Territory. Nothing escaped the attention, or record of the gentlemen who accompanied the expedition; and their statement regarding the customs, character and numbers of the Sioux and Chippeway tribes, are among the most valuable we have of those people. ... Six of the plates are representations of their practices, habitations, or features....(includes) comparative vocabulary of the Sawk, Sioux, Chippeway, and Cree languages. » Thomas W. Field An Essay Toward an Indian Bibliography, being a catalogue of books ...of the AMERICAN INDIANS (New York: Scribner Armstrong, 1873), no. 979

William H. Keating (1799 - 1840) was American geologist and chemist who taught Mineralogy at the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of the American Philosophical Society. He is best known for his account of the 1823 expedition to the Great Lakes, led by Stephen Harriman Long (1784 - 1864), an army civil engineer, explorer, and inventor whose explorations extended to the Great Plains and who covered over 26,000 miles in five expeditions. He was also an early developer of the steam locomotive.

William Claffin, whose bookplate is present in both volumes, was a an American industrialist, philanthropist and politician, who served as the 27th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was an ardent abolitionist and the state's first governor to actively support full women's suffrage.