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340 pp. Illustrated with wood engravings, some full-page on plates included in the pagination; 2 maps, 1 of them folding. (8vo) original blindstamped brown cloth, spine lettered in gilt. First Edition.

"After half a lifetime spent on the western plains and in the Rocky Mountains, Captain Marcy was well qualified to advise the prospective emigrant, and he ably summarized his experiences in this book. By 1859, the routes of overland travel had been well established, and Marcy set out twenty-eight of them, including one to the Pike's Peak gold region which had recently been discovered..." - Wagner-Camp. Wheat notes that the folding map, "though rather crude... affords an excellent general view of the routes of travel just prior to the railroad building era..." Cowan p.414; Graff 2676; Howes M279; Rader 2347; Sabin 44514; Smith 6509; Wagner-Camp 335:1; Wheat Transmississippi 984 and 985. Bookplate of San Francisco collector Joseph M. Gleason, and his usual numbering stamp internally. Early ownership name, E.P. Pearson, Jr. 17 U.S. Infantry, on title page.