Other editions of book Commerce of the prairies

Josiah A. Gregg, an experienced trader on the plains of western North America, details here the caravan networks and exchange of goods across the vast prairie lands in the 1830s and 1840s. A detailed yet lively chronicle, Commerce of the Prairies takes the reader back to a bygone era. At a time before the automobile or interstate commerce ignited the dynamism of an industrialized United States, there were individual merchants, traders and citizens working toward making their own lives and societies more prosperous and comfortable. To this end, settlers established trade routes and roads across what is now New Mexico, Texas, California and Nevada. One of the main trading partners was Mexico; it was often to Tijuana and other north Mexican towns that traders loaded their wagons and set off. One of the first cities to grow out of trading posts was Santa Fe, New Mexico - it is this locale that Josiah A. Gregg gained the most personal experience trafficking commodities. The Great Western plains were vast and scarcely charted. Traders would encounter unusual creatures in the desert which they had never seen, such as lizards and rattlesnakes. Occasionally they would witness or even partake in the ancient ceremonies of the local Native American tribes, whose traditions were starkly different to those of the incipient European settlers. Several chapters of this book are devoted to the Indian tribes; Gregg notes the marked variations in culture and behavior between Native American groups, noting that each held a distinct identity and customs. The trading roads crisscrossed around the Southwest United States; although their condition varied and dangers were many, they formed the genesis of a new, organized and mercantile society. It was this early trade, and the adventures so many merchants found themselves in, that laid the groundwork for cities to come, and by extension the modern United States and Mexico as we know them today. This edition of Commerce of the Prairies contains all of the illustrations presented in the original publication, allowing readers to better visualize life upon the plains long ago. Also present are the original notes and tables appended by Gregg.

This classic account includes the following chapters:I. Santa Fe TradeII. The DepartureIII. Catch UpIV. A Desert PlainV. Arrival at Santa FeVI. Sketches of the History of Santa FeVII. Geographical Position of New MexicoVIII. The Mines of New MexicoIX. Domestic Animals and Their ConditionsX. Condition of the Arts and Sciences in New MexicoXI. Style of Dress in New Mexico — CustomsXII. Government of New MexicoXIII. Military Hierarchy — Religious Superstitions and CeremoniesXIV. The PueblosXV. The Wild Tribes of New MexicoXVI. Incidents of a Return Trip From Santa FeXVII. A Return to Prairie LifeXVIII. Travelling Out of Our LatitudeXIX. Ponds and Buffalo WallowsXX. Preparations for a Start to Chihuahua — ArrivalXXI. From Chihuahua to AguascalientesXXII. Visit to the Mining Town of Jesus Maria — Return to ChihuahuaXIII. Departure for Santa Fe — Arrival at Santa FeXXIV. Preparations for Returning Home — Arrival at Van BurenXXV. Conclusion of the Santa Fe TradeXXVI. Geography of the PrairiesXXVII. Animals of the PrairiesXXVIII. Aborigines of AmericaXXIX. The Frontier IndiansXXX. Indians of the PrairiesXXXI. Indians of the Prairies

Written as a scrupulously accurate guidebook to the prairies and as an authoritative account of the early Santa Fe trade, Commerce of the Prairies has been a favorite of historians, ethnologists, naturalists, and collectors of Western Americana for generations. But Gregg’s masterpiece is not for specialists alone: its vivid descriptions of desert mirages, wagon caravans, Indian alarms and attacks, buffalo hunts, and other early Western phenomena will delight all who wish to know the country as it was before the great herds of buffalo were slaughtered and the roving Indians confined to reservations, before the landscape was transformed by barbed wire, domestic cattle, plowed fields, and modern highways. Josiah Gregg, a man of rare sensitivity and passionate science interest, joined a caravan of traders bound for Santa Fé in 1831 and almost immediately developed a fascination for the adventure-packed life of Santa Fé trader. And during the ten years that he engaged in the San Fé trade, Gregg took copious notes on the life and landscape of the American prairies and the Mexican plateau, later utilizing them in Commerce of the Prairies. This new edition faithfully follows the rare first edition, to and including the maps and illustrations. It will be welcomed both by readers familiar with the importance and interest of Gregg’s work and by readers who have yet to discover its attraction.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Written as a scrupulously accurate guidebook to the prairies and as an authoritative account of the early Santa Fe trade, Commerce of the Prairies has been a favorite of historians, ethnologists, naturalists, and collectors of Western Americana for generations. But Gregg’s masterpiece is not for specialists alone: its vivid descriptions of desert mirages, wagon caravans, Indian alarms and attacks, buffalo hunts, and other early Western phenomena will delight all who wish to know the country as it was before the great herds of buffalo were slaughtered and the roving Indians confined to reservations, before the landscape was transformed by barbed wire, domestic cattle, plowed fields, and modern highways.Josiah Gregg, a man of rare sensitivity and passionate science interest, joined a caravan of traders bound for Santa Fé in 1831 and almost immediately developed a fascination for the adventure-packed life of Santa Fé trader. And during the ten years that he engaged in the San Fé trade, Gregg took copious notes on the life and landscape of the American prairies and the Mexican plateau, later utilizing them in Commerce of the Prairies.This new edition faithfully follows the rare first edition, to and including the maps and illustrations. It will be welcomed both by readers familiar with the importance and interest of Gregg’s work and by readers who have yet to discover its attraction.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.