67 pp. With large folding lithographed map. (8vo) 22.5x14 cm (9x5½"), modern plain green wrappers, custom chemise and box. First (i.e. Senate) issue.
The short report was written primarily to explain the important map, drawn by Charles Preuss, which covers the entire West from the Rockies to the Pacific, measuring 83x66 cm., with a little hand coloring in outline. The map is titled "Map of Oregon and Upper California, From the Surveys of John Charles Fremont and Other Authorities. Drawn by Charles Preuss..." Wheat calls the it "the one great general map of 1848." He also comments that it is probably the first map, with a wide circulation, to locate the gold regions in California. The report of this third expedition of Fremont is uncharacteristically short, due to Fremont's court martial and resignation from military service. Nevertheless, it enjoyed great popularity since the discovery of gold was announced almost simultaneously with its publication. Cowan p.233; Graff 1429; Sabin 25837; Howes F366; Kurutz 256b; Wagner-Camp 150:2; Wheat Gold Region 58; Wheat Transmississippi 559.
Frémont engaged two of his key civilians for this “scientific” excursion under military sanction, his frontiersman guide, Christopher (Kit) Carson, and principal cartographer, Charles Preuss. Both accompanied him on future explorations, especially Carson who shared many of Frémont’s exploits in driving the Mexicans out of California.
Beyond Fort Laramie the Indian nations were hostile to the white invaders into their hunting grounds. Despite warning from the army post commander, Frémont pressed on to the South Pass to complete his mission. Again, his rash decisions either enhanced his image as a champion or led to a disastrous result which detracted from his hero persona. These wide swings in his decisions only add to the enigma of the man.
Thus began a long series of reports to Congress accounting for the discoveries of his expeditions. Reference to the attached bibliography for books comprising the various government reports published in various editions from 1843 to 1856, many that are revised editions of an earlier publication. These books are chock full of geologic and geographic details accompanied by charts, plates from drawings and maps. They do not offer casual reading of the adventure but more of a scientific overview of the expeditions taken from daily dairies and notebooks.
Jessie Benton Frémont was an accomplished writer and editor. Although all the published reports and the autobiography carry her husband’s name as author, it was her work that prepared the manuscripts for publication. She also wrote under her own name definitive accounts of life in California while it evolved from an isolated territory into a state.
In 1843 while the reports were prepared on the first expedition, Frémont was busy organizing the second trip west. It was more ambitious and stretched beyond the U.S. territories within the Louisiana Purchase into Oregon, currently claimed by the British, and into Mexican California. The route via the Arkansas River crossed the South Pass into Oregon Territory with an option to find a route over the Sierra Nevada into California and return by the Great Salt Lake.