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A HISTORY OF OREGON, 1792-1849, DRAWN FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION AND AUTHENTIC INFORMATION.
(Portland, Oregon: Harris & Holman, 1870). 235 x 150 mm. (9 1/4 x 6"). 624 pp. FIRST EDITION in Book Form.
Publisher's black cloth, flat spine with gilt lettering. With a frontispiece etching depicting Astoria in 1811. Errata slip tipped onto final page. A 1980 newspaper article (from The Springfield News) about William H. Gray's descendants. Graff 1630; Howes G-342; Sabin 28416. Head of spine with minute fraying, slight soiling to back cover, isolated minor foxing, chosen paper stock not as bright as it could be, but still a really excellent copy, the text clean and fresh, and the binding with few signs of use.
Originally published as a series of articles in the "Astoria Marine Gazette" between 1865-66, the contents of this volume include chapters on religious proselytizing, encounters (often of a violent nature) with indigenous peoples, mountain men, the formation of an early government, and commercial interests in the area. Originally a carpenter from Utica, William Henry Gray (1810-89) joined the party of fellow missionaries Marcus Whitman (1802-1847) and Henry Spalding (1803-1874) and their respective wives, Narcissa (1808-1847) and Eliza (1807-1851), on a seven-month, 3,000-mile journey overland from their homes in upstate New York to Fort Vancouver. (Narcissa and Eliza were the first white women to cross the Rocky Mountains.) Gray gives a long, absorbing account of that trip in the text here. He was later involved with efforts to create a provisional government among settlers of the area. As an historian, Gray was widely censured, even as he was acknowledged as an important source: Howes says the present work is "undependable and biased, but, as the product of a pioneer of 1838, [it] cannot be ignored." This book is easy enough to find, but it is normally encountered in rough shape. (ST20532)
Price: $175.00