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Three Years Travels Through the Interior Parts of North-America, for More than Five Thousand Miles; Containing an Account of the Great Lakes, and all the Lakes, Islands, and Rivers, Cataracts, Mountains, Minerals, Soil and Vegetable Productions of the North-West Regions of that Vast Continent; with a Description of the Birds, Beasts, Reptiles, Insects and Fishes Peculiar to the Country. Together with a Concise History of the Genius, Manners, and Customs of the Indians Inhabiting the Lands that Lie Adjacent to the Heads and to the Westward of the Great River Mississippi; and an Appendix, Describing the Uncultivated Parts of America that are the most Proper for Forming Settlements. By Captain Jonathan Carver, of the Provincial Troops in America, Published by Key & Simpson, Philadelphia, 1796, 360 pp, 20 pp, 8 pp, full original leather, 9 x 5.75 , 8vo. In fair condition. Boards are heavily worn and desiccated with red rot covering the surface. Corners rubbed with cardboard exposed. Spine later rebacked. Appears that original spine is overlaid. Spine desiccated and worn with red rot at joints. Tearing at tail. An old auction tag remains on the fly. Evidence of a bookplate on the pastedown, now gone. End papers are not original and remain unmarked. Evidence that repairs were made to this during the 19th or early 20th century. Internally toned with heavy dampness staining and age stain, affecting text. Some scattered foxing throughout, heavy at times. Free of known marginalia. Binding intact. Please see photos. Carver penetrated farther into the West than any other English explorer before the Revolution. Like his French predecessor -- Verendrye -- he was seeking a transcontinental waterway, but, aside from exploring some tributaries of the Mississippi, he made no substantial contributions to geographical knowledge; his book, however, stimulated curiosity concerning routes to the Pacific, later satisfied by Mackenzie and Lewis and Clark." Carver began his journey from Boston on June 17th 1766. He traveled 1,300 miles to Michillimackinac. He then proceeded into the interior parts of the Northwest, Green Bay, Up the Mississippi River, Northern Minnesota, and back. He traveled for 2 years and 5 months, covering 7,000 miles. The first part of the book covers his journal and his travels. The remainder covers the Indians, their manners, customs, religion, language, methods of war, hunting, prisoners, etc. Carver gives a graphic account of the massacre at Fort William Henry in 1757. Carver was a volunteer and was present and narrowly escaped with his life. He also relates Pontiac's attack on Detroit. He describes Detroit as consisting of 100 houses. The Indians tell Carver about a large lake North West Of Minnesota (Lake Winneepeek), he believes it leads to the Pacific Ocean. Seller Inventory # RAREA1796DMNL
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