A review by wwatts1734
The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman
3.0
When a college student returns to school for the fall, there are not many who could tell a better story about what he did for his summer vacation than Francis Parkman. In the spring to fall of 1846, Parkman and a college buddy from Harvard went out west to see what all of the fuss was about. This journey, which seems to have taken about 5 months in total, is the basis for this book which would establish Parkman as an expert on the west, and would be published in several editions, the last of which was published in 1897. The 1897 edition was the one that I read.
By 1897, the west that Parkman describes in these pages was already a bygone legend. It is fascinating to read about the west of the 1840s, with the groups of pioneers setting out from St. Louis to follow the Oregon trail or the Santa Fe trail to new homesteads and fortunes in the west. Parkman describes the French trappers and settlers left over from when the plains were part of the French territory of Louisiana. He discusses at length the various Native American tribes from the Blackfeet and Crows in the East to the Arapahoes and Pueblo in the Southwest, with special emphasis on Parkman's favorite tribe, the Ogilailah Sioux in the Rocky Mountains/Black Hills regions. Parkman discusses the wildlife that he encountered in spades, many of whom are virtually extinct in North America, such as the wolves, the antelope and especially the buffalo. He discusses the myriad of hardships that the settlers encountered as they moved out west. In today's era, it is good that we remember what our ancestors had to do in order to settle this great continent.
There are some significant downsides to the book. The worst part of the book for me was its complete lack of direction. A novel of course has a plot, and most works of non-fiction have a thesis of some sort, but this book meanders on, from topic to topic without any apparent direction. It made this very hard to finish because I just could not get into it, seeing as how it was like taking a walk on a treadmill. Another downside to this novel is Parkman's attitude toward just about everyone he encountered on the trail. Parkman had very strong attitudes toward the Indians, most of whom he thought of as savages and highway bandits. He certainly had a horrible attitude toward Mormons. Even the members of his own party were treated with contempt by Parkman. One thinks that, while this young man was out there on the frontier trail, he must have thought that he was the only one on the continent with a shred of intelligence. This attitude comes through in his writing and it is sad.
But, aside from these downsides, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the west. In fact, when it comes to the west prior to the Civil War, this book is perhaps the greatest source we have.
By 1897, the west that Parkman describes in these pages was already a bygone legend. It is fascinating to read about the west of the 1840s, with the groups of pioneers setting out from St. Louis to follow the Oregon trail or the Santa Fe trail to new homesteads and fortunes in the west. Parkman describes the French trappers and settlers left over from when the plains were part of the French territory of Louisiana. He discusses at length the various Native American tribes from the Blackfeet and Crows in the East to the Arapahoes and Pueblo in the Southwest, with special emphasis on Parkman's favorite tribe, the Ogilailah Sioux in the Rocky Mountains/Black Hills regions. Parkman discusses the wildlife that he encountered in spades, many of whom are virtually extinct in North America, such as the wolves, the antelope and especially the buffalo. He discusses the myriad of hardships that the settlers encountered as they moved out west. In today's era, it is good that we remember what our ancestors had to do in order to settle this great continent.
There are some significant downsides to the book. The worst part of the book for me was its complete lack of direction. A novel of course has a plot, and most works of non-fiction have a thesis of some sort, but this book meanders on, from topic to topic without any apparent direction. It made this very hard to finish because I just could not get into it, seeing as how it was like taking a walk on a treadmill. Another downside to this novel is Parkman's attitude toward just about everyone he encountered on the trail. Parkman had very strong attitudes toward the Indians, most of whom he thought of as savages and highway bandits. He certainly had a horrible attitude toward Mormons. Even the members of his own party were treated with contempt by Parkman. One thinks that, while this young man was out there on the frontier trail, he must have thought that he was the only one on the continent with a shred of intelligence. This attitude comes through in his writing and it is sad.
But, aside from these downsides, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the west. In fact, when it comes to the west prior to the Civil War, this book is perhaps the greatest source we have.