What I Saw In California: Being The Journal Of A Tour, By The Emigrant Route And South Pass Of The Rocky Mountains, Across The Continent Of North America, The Great Desert Basin, And Through California, In The Years 1846, 1847
by Bryant, Edwin
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Fine/fine
- Seller
-
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Edwin Bryant made the journey from Independence, Missouri to California in the years 1846-47, through the southern pass of the Rocky Mountains and across the desert. As a medical student, he became an unofficial doctor along the way, and witnessed some gruesome scenes, like the amputation of a little boy’s gangrenous leg, which he describes in painful scientific detail. He is equally explicit when portraying the daily life of the wagon trip, and his prose illuminates the trials of the traveler:"During the process of cooking supper, it commenced raining and blowing with great violence. Our fire was nearly extinguished by the deluge of water from the clouds, and our dough was almost turned to batter..."Bryant intended his work to function as both entertainment to the general reader and instruction for those planning to follow his path, and the book is a repository of useful information, like distances, weather, water source locations, and descriptions of plant life. As such, it is invaluable to enthusiasts of Western history. It is also a really good story, with entertaining sketches of camp life, Indians, and animals. Bryant’s descriptions of the landscapes are particularly compelling:"The vast prairie itself soon opened before us in all its grandeur and beauty...The view of the illimitable succession of green undulations and flowery slopes, of every gentle and graceful configuration, stretching away and away, until they fade from the sight in the dim distance, creates a wild and scarcely controllable ecstasy of admiration."The variety of Bryant’s adventures is striking – in one day he is present at a death, a wedding, a funeral, and a birth. He is often nearly overwhelmed by the functions of nature going on around him, and is particularly moved by the continuous presence of death: "One of our party who left the train to hunt through the valley, brought into camp this evening a human skull. He stated that the place where he found it was whitened with human bones. Doubtless this spot was the scene of some Indian massacre, or a battle-field where hostile tribes had met and destroyed each other. I could learn no explanatory tradition; but the tragedy, whatever its occasion, occurred many years ago."What I Saw in California is the classic yet remarkable adventure of a young man heading west, well-written and full of historically useful information.
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Details
- Bookseller
- James & Mary Laurie Booksellers (A.B.A.A.) (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 9004124
- Title
- What I Saw In California: Being The Journal Of A Tour, By The Emigrant Route And South Pass Of The Rocky Mountains, Across The Continent Of North America, The Great Desert Basin, And Through California, In The Years 1846, 1847
- Author
- Bryant, Edwin
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Facsimile reprint
- Publisher
- Ross & Haines
- Place of Publication
- Minneapolis
- Date Published
- 1967
- Keywords
- American History; Travel Exploration; California Historty
Terms of Sale
James & Mary Laurie Booksellers (A.B.A.A.)
We describe our items carefully and conservatively. Anything may be returned for any reason for a full refund provided that the return is intiated within 5 days of receipt.
About the Seller
James & Mary Laurie Booksellers (A.B.A.A.)
About James & Mary Laurie Booksellers (A.B.A.A.)
Glossary
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- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Gilt
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- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Facsimile
- An exact copy of an original work. In books, it refers to a copy or reproduction, as accurate as possible, of an original...
- Price Clipped
- When a book is described as price-clipped, it indicates that the portion of the dust jacket flap that has the publisher's...
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....