Fr駑ont's First Impressions: The Original Report of His Exploring Expeditions of 1842-1844 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780803271357)

In 1842 John C. Fr駑ont led a party of twenty-five men on a five-month journey from Saint Louis to the Wind River Range in the Rocky Mountains; his goal: to chart the best route to Oregon. In 1843 Fr駑ont was commissioned for another expedition, to explore the Great Salt Lake, Washington, eastern California, Carson Pass, and the San Joaquin Valley, places that did not yet belong to the United States.

His journals from these expeditions, edited in collaboration with his wife, Jessie Benton Fr駑ont, and published by Congress, thrilled the nation and firmly established Fr駑ont's persona as the Great Pathfinder. Part descriptive survey, part rousing adventure story, Fr駑ont's account was far more than a traveler's guide. His tales of courage and wit, descriptions of beautiful landscapes, and observations about Native Americans strengthened Americans' sense of a national identity and belief in Manifest Destiny. Still a fascinating page-turner today, Fr駑ont's report documents the opening of the West even as it offers a firsthand look at the making of the American myth.

Anne F. Hyde provides an introduction to this signature American story that contextualizes the report, outlines Fr駑ont's rise and fall, and shows how, for better or worse, this explorer exemplifies the nineteenth-century American spirit.


Author: John C. Fr駑ont
ISBN-10: 0803271352
ISBN-13: 9780803271357
Publisher: Bison Books
Language: English
Published: 10/01/2012
Pages: 392
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 8.99h x 7.94w x 0.87d