The River of the West by Frances Fuller Victor, New Edition, Illustrated, 1950

Victor, Frances Fuller. The River of the West. Life and Adventure in the Rocky Mountains and Oregon; Embracing Events in the Life-Time of a Mountain-Man and Pioneer: with the Early History of the North-Western Slope, Including an Account of the Fur Traders, the Indian Tribes, the Overland Immigration, the Oregon Missions, and the Tragic Fate of the Red. Dr. Whitman and Family. Also, a Description of the Country, Its Condition, Prospects, and Resources; Its Soil, Climate, and Scenery; Its Mountains, Rivers, Valleys, Deserts, and Plains; Its Inland Waters, and Natural Wonders. Columbus: Long’s College Book Company, 1950. New Edition. Octavo. In publisher’s blue cloth boards with a gilt grizzly bear embossed on the front, gilt titles and borders to the spine. Illustrated with frontispiece and 30 additional illustrations. Presented is a new edition of The River of the West by Frances Fuller Victor. Originally published by subscription in 1870 in Hartford, Connecticut, and Toledo, Ohio, this "New Edition" was published by Long’s College Book Company in Columbus, Ohio, in 1950. The volume is bound in the publisher’s blue cloth boards, with a gilt-embossed grizzly bear on the front board and gilt titles and borders to the spine. It is illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Joseph L. Meek and thirty additional illustrations. The River of the West is a history of the Pacific Northwest told through the life and experiences of Joseph L. Meek (1810–1875), a prominent mountain man, fur trapper, and Oregon pioneer. Victor traces Meek’s life from his departure from Virginia as a young man to his years as a fur trapper and explorer in the Rocky Mountains and his eventual prominence in Oregon, where he served as sheriff and later as a U.S. Marshal. Drawing upon Meek’s recollections and her own historical research, Victor describes the demanding realities of the fur trade, encounters between mountain men and Native American communities, and the gradual transformation of the Pacific Northwest through overland migration and settlement. The narrative also examines the Oregon missions, the Whitman massacre, and the political and social circumstances surrounding American expansion into the region. Descriptions of the Columbia River basin and the wider northwestern territories provide additional accounts of the region’s geography, climate, natural resources, and prospects for settlement. Frances Fuller Victor (1826–1902) was an American historian, novelist, and journalist whose extensive writings helped establish the historical literature of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Rome, New York, she began her literary career alongside her younger sister, Metta Fuller, publishing poetry in regional newspapers and the New York Home Journal. The sisters subsequently worked as editors of the Monthly Hesperian and the Odd-Fellows Literary Magazine in Detroit. Victor later wrote popular western fiction for the Beadle and Adams dime-novel publishing house and contributed editorials, stories, and commentary to San Francisco periodicals, including the Evening Bulletin and the Golden Era, sometimes under the pseudonym Florence Fane. After moving to Oregon in 1865, Victor increasingly devoted herself to documenting the region’s history and culture. The River of the West (1870) was followed by All Over Oregon and Washington (1871), which surveyed the Northwest’s industries, communities, politics, and prominent figures. Following the death of her husband, Henry Clay Victor, in 1875, she relied on her writing for financial support and joined the historical publishing enterprise of Hubert Howe Bancroft in California. Over approximately eleven years, she conducted research and wrote substantial portions of Bancroft’s multivolume histories of the American West, including the two-volume History of Oregon, published under his name. Her authorship remained insufficiently acknowledged during her lifetime, despite the breadth and scholarly rigor of her contributions. CONDITION: Near fine condition. Octavo. New Edition. In publisher's blue cloth boards with a gilt grizzly bear embossed on the front, gilt titles and borders to the spine. Bumping to corners, light shelf wear. Bright and clean interior pages, save past ownership "Bruce Bailey" inked on front free endpaper. Illustrated with frontispiece and 30 additional engravings, all accounted for. Book Dimensions: 8 5/8" H x 5 3/4" W x 2 1/8" D. Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.