Commerce of the Prairies

Haven't read it yet as I am into an Edward Abbey book that talked about Josiah Gregg. If he was good enough for Cactus Ed he is good enough for me. 339 pages long. I would much rather read a first-hand account of history than to read it in a watered down BS lying history book like the ones that were used in school. Can hardly wait to start reading it. Thank you and have a nice day.

If you are interested in the historyOf the Santa Fe Trail, this is a "must read". It is easier reading than many manuscripts of the same era.

Having visited the Santa Fe area a couple of years ago, I found this book held a lot of informative historic material that was interesting. The author writes with an easy style that I enjoyed, despite a lot of florid Victorian-period expression that incidentally adds to his authenticity.Gregg's knowledge, gained from first had experience, tells us a great deal about the daunting task of early commercial trafficking into the area and his dealings with the recalcitrant Mexicans.The book is quite long and covers a lot more ground than its title suggests as he delves considerably into geography of the south west as well as its flora and fauna, plus the indigenous people and their life style.As to negatives: I would have liked some maps so as to help find the sites he describes. I guess I shall have to discover some myself.

Interesting info about travel and transport of consumer goods in American Southwest in early 1800's --- before much of area had been explored by the white men and roads were dirt trails or non-existant. Water was scarce. Indians, hostile Spanish and desperados were plentiful. As the Title says, this book is about salesmen, merchandise, trading posts and what the salesmen encountered during their travels. This book is not a romantic Western. It is not about explorers, Mountain Men or wagon trains, though all are mentioned and some knowledge about them will help in understanding the hardships and history of the area. The book is about what salesmen and merchants had to cope with to supply remote areas of the American Southwest with items necessary for daily living in a rugged, remote and hostile wilderness.

You want to learn about the SFT from the perspective of a trader who traveled it regularly, this is the book. Depending on your level of interest, most of your questions will be answered, I’ll bet. He also tells about events & people on the Trail at the time not in his immediate experience. I had to get used to his dated prose, but that wasn’t difficult. Also, the large page format & small print was a bit off putting.

Historians and hobbyists of the Santa Fe Trail love Josiah Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies, I think, because it's (a) a first-person account from when the trail was still young in the 1830s, (b) decently written and researched, and (c) contains detailed descriptions of seemingly trivial mentions like the types of wagons used, what jobs people held or vegetation encountered.Pioneers of the Santa Fe Trail weren't exactly known for their literacy, let alone their literary prose, so Josiah Gregg's chronicle is indeed a rarity. That doesn't mean it's not often boring. Check it out if you're curious, but otherwise a summation from other historians should suffice.

Slow read. Good read. I am learning.

This is not an exciting read but a faithful account of the way it was crossing the southern prairies in the early 19th century. I liked what the author said about how difficult it was to return to civilization after tasting the freedom of prairie life.