Wyeth's Oregon, or a Short History of a Long Journey, 1832; and Townsend's Narrative of a Journey across the Rocky Mountains, 1834
"In the winter of 1831-32, (Nathaniel J.) Wyeth formed his party of pioneers and formulated his plans. With the opening of spring a vessel laden with supplies was to start around Cape Horn, to meet the overland adventurers (the Oregon Colonization Society) at the mouth of the Columbia. Wyeth, meanwhile, was to lead a company of hale young men across the continent, who should hunt and trap on the way, and be ready on arrival to provide a cargo of furs for the vessel, and later to develop the products of the Oregon country." Unfortunately nothing went as planned. The majority of his men found the hazards too great and turned back; his vessel had been wrecked on a Pacific reef; and his cargo of supplies was lost. He passed the winter at Fort Vancouver before returning to Boston and embarking on a second adventure. Although his kinsman John B. Wyeth was one of those who voted to turn back, his narrative provides a picture of early life on the plains and in the mountains with vivid pictures of the fur-trade leaders and of friendly and hostile Indians. "John K. Townsend, a well-known Philadelphia physician and naturalist, had long been desirous of exploring the far western country in the interests of science." He joined Wyeth second expedition and through his narrative provided detailed knowledge of the resources of the Far Northwest. "From the commercial and economic standpoint, Wyeth's enterprise was a failure; from the historian's point of view, it was eminently successful. He conducted considerable parties of Americans across the continent, some of whom became permanent settlers in the Oregon country, and his personal narrative on the worth of the new region helped pave the way for the final acquisition of that country under the Oregon Treaty of 1846.
Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D.
(1905), 2007, CD-ROM, Graphic Images, Searchable, Adobe v6, PC or Mac, 370 pp.
ISBN: 9780788443411
101-CD4341
