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Adventures Of Zenas Leonard, Fur Trader And Trapper, 1831-1836 ZENAS LEONARD

Adventures Of Zenas Leonard, Fur Trader And Trapper, 1831-1836

ZENAS LEONARD

Other works by ZENAS LEONARD

Publication: The Burrows Brothers Company, 1904, Cleveland

Reprinted from the exceedingly rare original of 1839. Limited to 520 copies. Cloth, 317pp., a lengthy introduction by editor, W. F. Wagner, MD. Two maps, facsimiles, illustrations. Index. "In 1831, having drifted west to Saint Louis from the farm where he was raised in Pennsylvania, Zenas Leonard became a clerk in the fur trading firm of Gantt and Blackwell and set out for the Rocky Mountains. The trading firm dissolved but Leonard remained in the Rockies as a free trapper until the summer rendezvous of 1833 on Green River. He then joined the party of Captain Bonneville, and under the leadership of Joseph Reddeford Walker, made the historic journey across the Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada to California. Leonard remained in association with Captain Bonneville, returning to Independence with him in August of 1835."---Wagner-Camp 75. "...the first group to reach California via the southern route. The party reached the Sierra Nevada, reaching Monterey where they spent the winter. It is now generally believed that after crossing the main ridge, the party descended the divide between the Merced and Toulumne Rivers, thus becoming the first white men to see the Yosemite, the giant redwoods of Mariposa and the Big Trees of the California Territory."---John Howell. "Leonard's narrative is a classic of the Rocky Mountain fur trade. It is not only a pleasure to read, but comprises an accurate account of personal experience."---Everett Graff. "Completely trustworthy account of Rocky Mountain trapping, 1831-37, including experiences with Walker's expedition from Salt Lake to California, 1833, of which it is the chief first-hand authority."---Wright Howes. Some light spots on the cover else a near fine copy. Very scarce.

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