Josiah Gregg (1806–1850)

An account of travel on the Santa Fe trail in the years 1831-1844. The author, Josiah Gregg, was a doctor from Missouri who, for health concerns, took up traveling the Santa Fe trail as a merchant. Gregg uses the florid writing style of the period, and his personal observations on Native Americans, Mexicans and Mormons reflect the prejudices of his time. (Interestingly enough, when Gregg meets individual natives or Mexicans, his bigotry softens and he allows – sometimes grudgingly and sometimes enthusiastically – that they don’t fit the stereotypes of their group).

Although Gregg’s ethnic and racial observations are regrettable, his geographical and organizational information – how to organize a wagon train, what equipment to have (don’t forget the cannons), and the advantages and disadvantages of various routes – are interesting enough. No illustrations, but this abridged edition has a fold out map of the area. Good index. Interesting to compare to Marcy’s The Prairie Traveler, written a few years later.… (meer)

Historians and hobbyists of the Santa Fe Trail love Josiah Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies, I think, because it's (a) a first-person account from when the trail was still young in the 1830s, (b) decently written and researched, and (c) contains detailed descriptions of seemingly trivial mentions like the types of wagons used, what jobs people held or vegetation encountered.

Pioneers of the Santa Fe Trail weren't exactly known for their literacy, let alone their literary prose, so Josiah Gregg's chronicle is indeed a rarity. That doesn't mean it's not often boring. Check it out if you're curious, but otherwise a summation from other historians should suffice.… (meer)