Narrative Journal of Travels through the Northwestern Regions of the United States; Extending from Detroit through the Great chain of American Lakes to the Sources of the Mississippi River.

Albany: E. and E. Hosford, 1821. First edition. Octavo. 419, [1], [4, index]. Errata slip bound in at rear. Plus 8 full page plates (including the engraved tittle), and a large folding map. Original half brown roan over marbled boards.Some overall toning and front cover needs to be reaffixed, but a clean, complete and very pleasant copy."This expedition led by General Cass was one of the many that he made as governor of Michigan for the purpose of visiting and negotiating with various Indian tribes of the Old Northwest. In this case, he also proposed to determine the source of the Mississippi River" - Wagner- Camp, 21a. "Schoolcraft and Pettibone were poorly prepared when they embarked on their journey. Inexperienced as outdoorsmen, they lacked the proper clothing and equipment for a winter expedition. During the first week of the trip, their packhorse wandered off twice. Later, while they were trying to ford a river, the packhorse plunged into the water, ruining most of their supplies. Schoolcraft and Pettibone found themselves lost without food or dry gunpowder. Fortunately, the two men met a white hunter named Wells, who, like many of the individuals the duo encountered, generously fed and sheltered them. After buying supplies from Wells, Schoolcraft and Pettibone set out for the James River, a branch of the White River, where they located lead deposits. After conducting tests and recording their findings, they returned from the Ozarks. Back in Potosi, Schoolcraft quickly wrote and published A View of the Lead Mines of Missouri. He hoped the report would convince government officials to appoint him federal superintendent of the Missouri lead district, but he was instead selected to be the mineralogist and naturalist for the Cass Expedition, which explored Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi Map of the Ozarks Region, circa 1821 In 1821 Schoolcraft published his account [offered here] of his earlier trip, Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw. His descriptions of the wildlife, geography, and waterways of the Ozarks introduced the region to readers in the East. Howes S186, Field 1363, Sabin 77862; Streeter Sale 1782.