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Narrative Of The Exploring Expedition To The Rocky Mountains, In The Year 1842; And To Oregon And North California, In The Years 1843-4 BREVET CAPTAIN J. C. FREMONT

Narrative Of The Exploring Expedition To The Rocky Mountains, In The Year 1842; And To Oregon And North California, In The Years 1843-4

BREVET CAPTAIN J. C. FREMONT

Other works by BREVET CAPTAIN J. C. FREMONT

Publication: Derby, Bradley & Co, 1846, Cincinnati

Original Printed Wrappers. 186pp. "Reprinted from the Official Copy published by order of the Senate of the United States." "The goal of Fremont's expedition was to map and describe the second half of the Oregon Trail; find an alternate route to the South Pass; and push westward toward the Pacific Ocean on the Columbia River in Oregon Country. Fremont and his almost 40 well-equipped men, left the Missouri River in May. Unable to find a new route through Colorado to the South Pass, Fremont took to the regular Oregon Trail, stopping to explore the northern part of the Great Salt Lake, then traveling by way Fort Hall and Fort Boise to Marcus Whitman's mission, along the Snake River to the Columbia River and into Oregon. Traveling west along the Columbia, they came within sight of the Cascade Range peaks and mapped Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood. In March 1844 Fremont's party reached Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley. Rather than turning around and heading back to St. Louis, Fremont resolved to explore the Great Basin between the Rockies and the Sierras and fulfill Benton's dream of acquiring the West for the United States. Fremont and his party turned south along the eastern flank of the Cascades through the Oregon territory to Pyramid Lake. Looping back to the east to stay on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, they turned south again as far as present-day Minden, Nevada, reaching the Carson River on January 18, 1844. From an area near what later became Virginia City, Fremont turned west into the cold and snowy Sierra Nevada, becoming one of the first Americans to see Lake Tahoe. A member of Fremont's party, Kit Carson, led Fremont's party through a new pass over the high Sierras, which Fremont named Carson Pass in his honor. They then descended the American River valley to Sutter's Fort in early March. Leaving Sutter's Fort, Fremont and his men headed south following Smith's trail on the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley until he struck the "Spanish Trail" between Los Angeles and Santa Fe, and headed east through Tehachapi Pass and present-day Las Vegas before regaining Smith's trail north through Utah and back to South Pass. Exploring the Great Basin, Fremont verified that all the land was without any outlet rivers flowing towards the sea. The finding contributed greatly to a better understanding of North American geography, and disproved a long-standing legend of a 'Buenaventura River' that flowed out the Great Basin across the Sierra Nevada. After exploring Utah Lake, Fremont traveled by way of the Pueblo until he reached Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River. In August 1844, Fremont and his party finally arrived back in St. Louis." Front wrapper has 1.5" closed tear to upper fore-edge and lower fore-corner missing. Minor wear to fore-edge corners of the first several pages, else Very Good in fragile original wrappers.

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