Customer Reviews

The Explorations of William H. Ashley and Jedediah Smith, 1822-1829

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This is a major source book of major materials relating to William Ashley and Jedediah Smith and their explorations in the West in the 1820s. Contained are Ashley's narrative of his 1824-25 expedition to the Green River via the South Platte (the first to take the south branch) and his return on the Big Horn River to the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers; Smith's short narrative of his exploring journey to California (1826-28) (his full journal of his trip remained lost to history until 1967 when it came to light; it's also published by Bison Books and should be read in conjunction with this book; see my review of that book for a fuller account of this journey); and two fragmentary journals kept by Harrison G. Rogers, who was with Smith as company clerk, and subsequently killed along with 13 others when the party was attacked by Umpqua Indians in southwestern Oregon (only Smith and three others escaped the massacre).

In addition to this original material, editor Harrison Dale supplies full biographical accounts of both Ashley and Smith, and a thorough review of the fur trade in the west up to 1822. His notes are detailed and complete, among the best to be found in any western book, and he gives a comprehensive annotated bibliography as well. The index is also first-rate and easy to consult for research purposes. This is one of the half-dozen must-read/have books dealing with the early trans-Missouri fur-trade period. Superb history.