Authors: Francis Parkman, Parkman
ISBN-13: 9780486424804, ISBN-10: 0486424804
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
Date Published: November 2002
Edition: Reprint
Bernard Rosenthal is Professor of English at SUNY-Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.
As a way of learning about the ways of the Plains Indians, as a basis for his proposed history of the struggle for control of North America by the English and French, Parkman set off from Westport, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail in spring of 1846. Only 23, he returned in September, 1846, with the story of his trip and his observations on all he had seen and done. The book documents the struggles the expedition encountered, and includes Parkman's predictions that both the buffalo and the Native American way of life will disappear. It remains a classic tale of the pioneer spirit found in nineteenth-century America.
In 1846, a young man of privilege left his comfortable Boston home to embark on a strenuous overland journey to the untamed West. This timeless account of Parkman's travels and travails provides an expressive portrait of the rough frontiersmen, immigrants, and Native Americans he encounters, set against the splendor of the unspoiled wilderness. While Parkman's patrician air and unabashed racism sometimes jolt the modern reader, this remains a colorful classic by one of the 19th century's most prominent narrative historians. A circumspect abridgment and a laudable interpretation by veteran narrator Frank Muller enrich this audio version. Highly recommended.Linda Bredengerd, Hanley Lib., Univ. of Pittsburgh, Bradford, Pa.
1 | The Frontier | 1 |
2 | Breaking the Ice | 9 |
3 | Fort Leavenworth | 19 |
4 | "Jumping off" | 23 |
5 | The "Big Blue" | 34 |
6 | The Platte and the Desert | 46 |
7 | The Buffalo | 58 |
8 | Taking French Leave | 72 |
9 | Scenes at Fort Laramie | 87 |
10 | The War Parties | 101 |
11 | Scenes at the Camp | 122 |
13 | Ill-Luck | 139 |
14 | Hunting Indians | 146 |
15 | The Ogillallah Village | 167 |
16 | The Hunting Camp | 187 |
17 | The Trappers | 209 |
18 | The Black Hills | 218 |
19 | A Mountain Hunt | 222 |
20 | Passage of the Mountains | 234 |
21 | The Lonely Journey | 248 |
22 | The Pueblo and Bent's Fort | 266 |
23 | Tete Rouge, the Volunteer | 274 |
24 | Indian Alarms | 279 |
25 | The Chase | 289 |
26 | The Buffalo Camp | 298 |
27 | Down the Arkansas | 313 |
28 | The Settlements | 329 |