{"product_id":"travels-through-mexico-california-jdb1iua3","title":"Travels through Mexico and California:","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA wonderful copy of this overland narrative. Rarely encountered in cloth, this issue was probably reserved for the author. A. B. Clarke lived in Independence, Iowa until his death in 1882. This copy is inscribed “Robert F. Clarke, Independence Iowa.”\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eThe only other copy we’ve seen had a similar family connection.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Clarke, a native of Conway, Massachusetts, sailed from New York on January 29, 1849, as a member of the Hampden Mining Company. After arriving in central Mexico [via Brazos Pass in Texas], he proceeded westward via Arizona and the Gila River. He arrived in Los Angeles on July 9. In the Gila area, he met Dr. Field, one of the two survivors of the infamous Fanning massacre. By August 2, the New Englander labored in the Tuolumne Diggings. He spent the winter of 1849 and 1850 in San Francisco and, in the summer of 1850, worked on the Yuba River” (Kurutz).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas Streeter called Clarke’s overland narrative “one of the most interesting, as the route was from Camargo, Mexico, on the south side of the Rio Grande through Chihuahua and Sonora to the Gila River of Arizona, then the Mexican-United States boundary. This route had not been previously described. The party reached Los Angeles July 9, 1849.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dangers of mid-century overland travel are well-represented here as Clarke travelled across northern Mexico. “The Apaches, and Camanches [sic], two wandering tribes, are scattered over the extensive country … The Apaches are better warriors than the Camanches. They generally fight on fleet horses, which they manage skillfully. They make their attacks by charging furiously into the ranks of an enemy, shooting rapidly with their guns or bows … They make excursions for robbing, every year, into several states in Mexico, and always carry terror and desolation with them … They, every year, steal from the Mexicans, and drive into their own wild country, large numbers of horses, mules, and cattle.” There are further notes on mezcal production and horsemanship in Chihuahua, Mexico, plus irrigation in Arizona and an excellent description of Tucson.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo less than E.I. Edwards, adds that “Clarke’s description of the desert crossing is dramatically impressive … On June 26, 1849, they crossed the Colorado River and started over the desert. On July 3 they arrived at Warner’s. Death threatened them constantly, day and night, during this punishing mid-summer week on the relentless desert” (Edwards).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn reaching Pueblo de Los Angeles, Clarke notes that the town’s adobes were “of a better kind than is common in Mexico, and there is more use made of lumber.” Importantly, there is also a very early notice of oil in Los Angeles: “Leaving town we passed, a few miles out, several places in and near the road, from which were oozing petroleum. I noticed large beds of it that had become hard. The people in town make use of it to cover the tops of the walls that surround their vineyards, gardens \u0026amp;c.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis first sight of the Pacific, somewhere south of Santa Barbara, is worth quoting in full: “Its wide waves can be observed at a considerable distance, following each other, and gathering force from their long career until they run far upon the beach, and again recede. But still there is a calmness, and a quiet grandeur in it, and its whisperings and murmurings seem to speak of hidden things.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowan, p.128; Edwards, p.49; Graff, 746; Hill, Howes, C451; Kurutz, 138a; Sabin, 13393; Streeter, 3169; Wagner-Camp “\u003cstrong\u003ea few copies known in cloth\u003c\/strong\u003e”, Becker 210.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Maggs Bros.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48674946318493,"sku":"262528","price":2250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0669\/0045\/9677\/files\/262528_01.jpg?v=1784643912","url":"https:\/\/store.maggs.com\/products\/travels-through-mexico-california-jdb1iua3","provider":"Maggs Bros.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}