The Splendid Wayfaring: The story of the exploits and adventures of Jedediah Smith and his comrades, the Ashley-Henry men, discoverers and explorers ... River to the Pacific Ocean, 1822-1831
The Splendid Wayfaring is excellent as supplementary reading in history classes and a wonderful book for the young reader who wants adventure. This is the story of the opening of the Central route from the Missouri to the Pacific, 1822-1831, and centers on the explorer Jedediah Smith. The author has drawn his material from Dale's The Ashley-Smith explorations and from original documents.
Here's to those intrepid adventurers of 1823, many who disappeared 'leaving no hint of the manner of their passing; and others, bewitched by the wild life and the vast free spaces of the wilderness, who shed, as an uncomfortable coat, the inheritance of ages, lapsing into the primitive, never again to long for the snug comforts and predetermined ways of civilized man." This light history reads like an adventure story from its time, the 1920s. Readers should neither be surprised by its triumphalist tone nor it's use of period idiom.
Warning: Not overrun but there is frequent use of the times colloquialisms.
This is an account of the travels of Jedidiah Smith, now forgotten explorer and first non indigenous man to travel across the Great Basin. It is an interesting look into this part of the history of the modern west, originally written in 1920. Well researched for the time, it does have a heavy focus on the Henry-Ashley camps and only a small fraction of focus on Smith himself. Still an important collection.of the known hsitory at the time of writing. An enjoyable read.
Neihardt is a poet. I first read the book 50 years ago and it is still alive. Sorry I mistyped "first" and the google translator translated ," I fist the book 50 years ago ", into Italian. Porco miseria! I hope it has been translated into decent Italian.