Across the Plains in the Donner Party: a personal narrative of the overland trip to California, 1846-47.

by Virginia Reed Murphy.

Virginia was 12 years old when her family left Springfield, Illinois to trek across the plains to California, their intended new home, along with 25 fellow emigrants. Along the way, her grandmother died, her pony had to be left, her family lost their oxen and had to abandon a wagon with their possessions, her stepfather killed a man and was banished from the train, and then she and her group were trapped in snows at the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada crest at and near what is now Donner Lake and Truckee, California. As a result, 13 of those who started with her in Springfield, and 29 more who joined her along the way, never did cross those mountains. Here is the little girl's story, written by her later as an adult, now a part of the American epic of winning the West. Reprinted from Century Magazine with illustrations added from Frederic Remington and others. 64 pages.  See sample pages, illustrations.

ISBN: 978-0-89646-099-7. Order #: VIST0099 paper$7.95.

Diary of Patrick Breen--one of the Donner Party.

by Frederick J. Teggart.

Diary kept by 1846-47 Donner Party emigrant who survived over-winter entrapment in Sierra snow near Truckee, California. 7 photos, 16 pages.  See sample pages, illustrations.

ISBN: 978-0-89646-102-4. Order #: VIST0102 paper$3.95.

Patrick Breen

 

 

 

 

The Buffalo--1898.

by Colonel Henry Inman with "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

America nearly lost its buffalo (or bison, to be more accurate), but in an early conservation effort a small herd was retained. This has now grown into a sizable population, which recall to us the vast herds that once roamed and even blackened the plains. This story, however, is told by one who at one point in his career was actively engaged in slaughtering the animals. They were a nuisance that got in the way of the new trains, and, besides, eliminating buffaloes might help in subduing Indians. Life habits of the animal are given as well, and what better way to learn of the place in our history of the buffalo than by reading an account by one of the principals in their history. Reprinted from 1898. Illustrations are by Frederic Remington and others. 48 pages.  See sample pages, illustrations.

ISBN-10: 0-89646-028-2. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-028-7.  Order #: VIST0028 paper$4.95.

 

 

Buffalo Bill poster

Portrait of Colonel W.F. Cody from a pre-1900 poster printed in purple, yellow, and sepia on heavy stock, 11 " x 15". Only a few left.

ISBN-10: 0-89646-093-2. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-093-5.Order #: VIST0093" poster$3.00.  Larger view.(coming)

 

 

 

 

 

Buffalo Bill's True Tales.

by William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Buffalo Bill remains famous because he typifies the romantic figure of the American West. His Wild West shows, a mixture of rodeo and circus along with real-life history, spread his fame, dramatizing this frontiersman as a super rider and top marksman. To us moderns, reading how Cody could be both an Indian killer and a friend of the Indian people might be hard to grasp, but it is important to grasp to better understand the nature of the frontier. Indian Sitting Bull, for instance, and Buffalo Bill had stood against each other in matters of war, but toured in the Wild West show together! Also here are his tales as a Pony Express rider, buffalo hunter, and riding his horse for their lives. This is Bill's story, in his words; and yet, as an American, it is your story, too. Period illustrations, with a color cover. 24 pages.  See sample pages, illustrations.

ISBN-10: 0-89646-022-3. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-098-0. Order #: VIST0098 paper$3.95.

 

 

 

The Cañons of the Colorado--the 1869 discovery voyage down the Colorado River.

by Major John Wesley Powell.

Note the word cañons in the title would today be spelled canyons. From Wyoming, into Colorado, through Utah, to Arizona and the Grand Canyon, and to Nevada--this was the journey of the "Colorado River Exploring Expedition", what Powell called his group of 9 men and 4 boats as they began charting what was the last major unexplored part of the then United States. The trip was not only scientific in its goals, but it naturally became a grand adventure, with two of their party opting to leave the expedition before attempting a furious cascade, only to be killed by Indians. Much of the land and scenery which they drifted or dashed past is today included in national park areas. Illustrations are by Thomas Moran and others. 64 pages.  See sample pages, illustrations.

ISBN-10: 0-89646-059-2. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-059-1. Order #: VIST0059 paper$4.95

SAVE! Scuffed copies of The Cañons of the Colorado are available at discount Go to Scuffed Specials.

 

Famous Gunfighters of the Western Frontier.

by W. B. (Bat) Masterson. with some illustrations by Frederic Remington.

Biographies of gunfighters by the master himself, including Ben Thompson, Wyatt Earp, Luke Short, Buffalo Bill Cody, Doc Holliday, Billy Tilghman, Bat Masterson, and others. Includes Tombstone's famous fight at the O.K. Corral, how Holliday got into his career, Indian battles, stagecoach wrecks and holdups, barroom brawls, sheriffs of the West, gambling and gamblers, cattle rustlers, railroads. Settings include cow-towns--Dodge, Hays, Sheridan, Cody, Leadville, Fort Worth, Glenwood Springs. Reprinted from 1907. Illustrations from the original and period sources, including Frederic Remington. 96 pages.  See sample pages, illustrations.

ISBN-10: 0-89646-087-8. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-087-4.  Order #: VIST0087 paper$6.95.

 

 

The Life and Wonderful Adventures of Wild Bill (J. B. Hickok).

by James. W. Buel.

Author Buel was a newspaper man of Hickock's day and later one of Hickock's principal biographers, thus a source probably as close to the truth as we can get on the now legendary figure Wild Bill. Bill's reputation as a fighter emerged early in his career, and the fear that struck in the hearts of opponents helped him command many a situation before a showdown. But when one came, his courage was legend, as he was always willing to fight no matter the odds. He paid a price, though. He spent much of his life convalescing from bullet and knife wounds! While sheriff, he accidentally shot his deputy, and Wild Bill himself was finally assassinated while playing cards. Bill lived his life during the periods of the Civil War and the Indian Wars that followed, in the era of the Wild West as celebrated by Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows, and in which Wild Bill appeared for a time. Reprinted from Heroes of the West, 1881. Period drawings. 56 pages.  See sample pages, illustrations.

ISBN-10: 0-89646-013-4. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-013-3. Order #: VIST0013 paper$4.95.

"Wild Bill" (James B. Hickok)

 

 

 

 

 

Kaibeto Memories: a trader's daughter remembers growing up at Kaibeto Trading Post on the Navajo Reservation in remote northern Arizona 1936-1960.

by Elizabeth Anne Jones Dewveall.

Even today Kaibeto does not appear as a place on many modern maps. When Elizabeth Anne was growing up in this remote desert region of northeastern Arizona roads were still evolving from dirt tracks and passage was not infrequently blocked by drifting sand, unpredictable floods in otherwise dry washes, or snowstorms, with pavement dozens and dozens of miles away in all directions and little development of any kind along the routes. The trading post, however, had already been a hub for supplies for the local population for 22 years when Elilzabeth Anne started her life there as daughter of traders Ralph and Julia Jones. Elizabeth Anne grew up as a single child at this remote outpost, with Navajo Indian children as playmates and an occasional visit by relatives from distant places. In time she would learn some Navajo words, how to trade the post's goods in an economy with little cash, and something of a culture not her own. The post took in hides, wool, silver and turquoise jewelry, woven blankets as items of exchange and often relied on a pawn system, storing native treasures as collateral. Much of her account, however, is of stories of the native people who came to the post and of their joys, trials, and tribulations as they managed their lives with ingenuity and perseverance. The stories Elizabeth Anne tells provide a glimpse of life at this trading post, of which little has been written before, and by extension of what life might have been like at the many other trading post throughout the West that linked populations through an economic setting. 120 pages, illustrations, map. See sample pages, illustrations.
Paper: Inventory = in quanity. ISBN: 978-0-8946-103-1. Order #: VIST0103 paper$14.95.
Paper edition also available at Amazon.com, eBay.com, ebid.net, IngramSpark.com.

Hardbound: Inventory = in quantity. ISBN: 978-0-8946-105-5. Order #: VIST0105 cloth $25.00.
Cloth edition also available at Amazon.com and eBay.com.

Electronic edition available from Amazon.com: ISBN: 978-0-89646-104-8. electronic$9.95.

 

Ranch Life in the Far West.

by Theodore Roosevelt.

After being president, Roosevelt stated "I would not have been president had it not been for my experience in North Dakota" And so here are his experiences, as he wrote about them, of cattle, ranching, sheriff's work, hunting game, and frontier types. Tales of round-ups, breaking broncos, and arresting thieves are included, as well as the harshness of the winters on his Elkhorn Ranch, much of which is now in the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. Foreword is by park naturalist Gerard T. Altoff. Reprinted from 1888 and 1893. Illustrated primarily with engravings done by Frederic Remington for the original publication. 96 large-format pages.  See sample pages, illustrations.

ISBN-10: 0-89646-034-7. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-034-8. Order #: VIST0034 paper$9.95.

 

MORE WESTERN-AMERICANA TITLES ON OTHER PAGES

click to view ites below on California/Nevada page:
HYDRAULIC GOLD-MINING IN CALIFORNIA, 1883.
LAKE OF THE SKY: LAKE TAHOE in the High Sierras of California and Nevada.
THE MAMMOTH TREES OF CALAVERAS.
MARK TWAIN'S VIRGINIA CITY: Nevada Territory in the 1860s.
MOUNTAINEERING in the KINGS RIVER COUNTRY, 1864 by Clarence King
A MINER'S SUNDAY, 1849.
MONARCH, the BIG BEAR OF TALLAC in the Lake Tahoe High Sierra.
THE MURDER OF JULIA BULETTE: Virginia City, Nevada; 1867.
PIONEER DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO.
A TRIP TO BODIE BLUFF and the Dead Sea of the West (Mono Lake)--in 1863.

click to view items below on John Muir page:
A RIVAL OF THE YOSEMITE: The Canon of the South Fork of King's River, California.
THE HUMMINGBIRD OF THE CALIFORNIA WATERFALLS.
IN THE HEART OF THE CALIFORNIA ALPS: a near view of the High Sierra in 1872.
THE PROPOSED YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK-Treasures and Features.
THE WILD SHEEP.
THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.

click to view items below on Colorado page: 
AT A NEW MINING CAMP: Creede of Colorado, 1892.
THE CITY OF DENVER, 1888: an early history of "The Queen City of the Plains".
CRIPPLE CREEK 1900: a Colorado Mining Camp.
SILVER SAN JUAN: the mines and high scenery in Colorado's southwest mountains--in 1882

click to view items below on Native American/Rock Art page: 
KAIBETO MEMORES: a trader's daughter remembers growinng up on the Navao Reservation
ROCK ART OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN.
THE SOUTHERN UTE INDIANS OF EARLY COLORADO

click to view items below on Southwest page:
ACROSS ARIZONA including glimpses of Yuma, Tombstone, Tucson.

click to view items below on  Yosemite page:
DISCOVERY OF THE YOSEMITE IN 1851
THE HUMMINGBIRD OF THE CALIFORNIA WATERFALLS. by John Muir
IN THE HEART OF THE CALIFORNIA ALPS: a near view of the High Sierra in 1872. by John Muir
OUR YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK by John Muir
THE PROPOSED YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK--Treasures & Features, 1890 by John Muir
A RIVAL OF THE YOSEMITE: The Canon of the South Fork of King's River, California.
THE WILD SHEEP. by John Muir

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