THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PATRICK GASS, NOW SOLE SURVIVOR OF THE OVERLAND EXPEDITION TO THE PACIFIC, UNDER LEWIS AND CLARK, IN 1804-5-6; ALSO, A SOLDIER IN THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN, FROM 1812 TO 1815... TOGETHER WITH GASS' JOURNAL OF THE EXPEDITION CONDENSED; and Sketches of Some Events Occurring during the Last Century in the Upper Ohio Country, Biographies, Reminiscences, etc.
Wellsburg, VA: Jacob & Smith, Publishers and Printers, 1859. First edition. 12mo. 280 pp. Frontispiece portrait and three plates. The story of the Corps of Discovery and its exploration of Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase seen through the lens of this biography of the last surviving member of the expedition. "The biography of its citizens is the history of a nation, and we trust that the reputations of history will not suffer from one departure in permitting the humble biography of a hero of the ranks, to stand by those of the great and title" (from the preface). Howes J-31. Graff 2183. Wagner-Camp 6:10: "Gass became one of the best-known members of the expedition for several reasons: his key role as sergeant brought his name up frequently in the journals of Lewis and Clark, his account was the first to be published, he was the first to have a biography written about him, and finally, he outlived the other members of the Corps of Discovery by decades, dying at the age of ninety-nine in 1870." Plates with foxing, text toned, but a very good copy. 20th-century green three-quarter leather and cloth, gilt rules and title on spine. (9761). Item #62094
Price: $1,250.00