Tourists in the old west...

[Andy54Hawken]

Not wanting to high-jack @CountryGent and his thread on Most interesting persons of the old west...
I thought I'd start a similar one on "Tourists" in the old west.

Our Western frontier held a huge fascination with many during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Folks came from around the world just to tour our western regions...
Heath...
Science...
Hunting...
Seeing the Indians and wildlife...
Were some common reasons to "Go West young ( and not so young ) man....

The following is a list of books that I own and are :
First hand accounts or narratives
Or
Works about our west based on the author's experiences

Some are still in print...others are not...all are worth searching out.
Note that the list is in no particular order.
Also note that this list is far from complete...
Happy reading...!
Andy

Tixier's travels on the Osage Prairies.....by Victor Trixier
Edward Warren...by Sir William Drummond Stewart
Townsend's Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains , to the Columbia River...by John Kirk Townsend
Rocky Mountain Life...by Rufus sage
A tour to Northern Mexico 1846-1847
A Journey to the Rocky Mountains 1839...both by Fredrick A. Wislizenus
Life in the Far West
Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains 1846-1847...both by George Ruxton
Wah-To-Yah and the Taos Trail...Lewis Garrard
Prairie & Mountain Sketches
Matt Field on the Santa Fe Trail....both by Matt Field
The Oregon Trail...by Francis Parkman
A Tour of the Prairies...by Washington Irving
Indian Sketches...by John Treat Irving JR
Travels in North America 1822-1824...Paul Wilhem Duke of Wurttemberg

Read More

 

[Diamondback]

Two I'd like to read more about: paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, the "generals" of the Bone Wars. Yes, their collecting teams were actually shooting at each other while chasing The Next Big Dig... IIRC Marsh or one of his top subordinates even got an Indian tribal name, "Picks Up Stones While Running."

Michael Crichton left an unfinished manuscript set in that conflict, recently published as Dragon's Teeth.

 

[Idaho44]

Local historical museums are a good source, Hastings use to be so maybe the 'local' section of Barnes and Noble would be a place to investigate. "Couger Dave" is one I would recommend even though it's not a tourist tale.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@Diamondback
One that I have but not on my list is
Fifty Years On The Old Frontier...by James H.Cook
And while not dealing with Cope or Marsh...
Cook does talk about guiding scientists to the Agate Springs Fossil beds in the 1890's...
Andy

 

[Idaho44]

Here is one that is sort of related to the "tourist" theme: Snowbound: Ladd Hamilton: 9780874221541: Amazon.com: Books

Drive the highway (12) today and think about what it was like way back when.