A Tour on the Prairies

by Washington Irving

This is the extended annotated edition including a detailed biographical primer on the life and works of the author.



The productions of Washington Irving are deservedly held in high estimation, not so much, perhaps, for their intrinsic merits as literary compositions, although in this respect they hold no mean position, as for the inimitable tracings of adventurous life which they display through all their gradations and variety, and for the interest they keep alive in the reader, without outraging nature.



Several hundred miles beyond the Mississippi extended a vast tract of uninhabited country, where there is neither to be seen the log-house of the white man nor the wigwam of the Indian. It consisted of large grassy plains, interspersed with forests and groves, and watered by the Arkansas, the Grand Canadian, the Red River, and all their tributary streams. Over these fertile and verdant wastes roamed the elk, the buffalo, and the wild horse, in all their native freedom—and these were, in fact, the hunting-grounds of the various inhabitants of the Far West. Thither repaired the Osage, the Creek, the Delaware, and other tribes, that had linked themselves with civilization, and lived within the vicinity of the white settlements; and here resorted also the Pawnees, the Comanches, and a variety of fierce and as yet independent rovers, the nomades of the prairies, or the inhabitants of the skirts of the Rocky Mountains.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel, American History, Nature, Classics, The United States Of America

95 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1832

About the author

People remember American writer Washington Irving for the stories " Rip Van Winkle " and " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ," contained in The Sketch Book (1820).

This author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century wrote newspaper articles under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle to begin his literary career at the age of nineteen years.

In 1809, he published The History of New York under his most popular public persona, Diedrich Knickerbocker.

Historical works of Irving include a five volume biography of George Washington (after whom he was named) as well as biographies of Oliver Goldsmith, Muhammad, and several histories, dealing with subjects, such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors, and the Alhambra, of 15th-century Spain. John Tyler, president, appointed Irving to serve as the first Spanish speaking United States minister to Spain from 1842 to 1846.

Reviews

[Fabian · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I really do prefer Ruxton's "Life in the Far West" (Hey! There are, like, tons and tons of cannibals!) this is a more literary read. He, of Ichabod & Rip Van Winkle fame, actually took a trip to the prairies of present-day Oklahoma, following a crew composed of a Commissioner, a Captain, a ruffian Creole, and a bunch of other crazy, insatiable rascals. They eat so much meat out in the wild they start turning mad, aimless. Irving is wonderful at painting the picturesque, landscapes, bee-trees, & sometimes delves into the supernatural (he speaks of ghosts and the superstitions of the Pawnees, the bleached skulls of deer marking uncertain roads...) & quickly transports the reader from his fat ass on the couch to his fat ass on a horse and saddle.

That being said, I should also mention that although the paranoia of Indian attack is prevalent among the men, not a single (and the Introductory Essay forewarns us of this) Indian is seen throughout the entire tour. Prairie dogs, buffalo, deer, bear... they are all here. Absent is the important mythical figure that has so decidedly marked other interesting narratives of the American prairie.

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This month-long diary by Washington Irving of his time with a recreational hunting party is filled with derogative comments about those of other races, wanton slaughter of big game and lovely descriptions of the landscape. The attitudes of these early Americans were appalling. Honestly, I was hoping that the buffalo would trample them, the Pawnee that they feared would slaughter them or the circling wolves would devour them. I only read this to fulfill a GR challenge.

[Lorenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lectura hermosísima y triste al mismo tiempo. Leemos y visualizamos de primera mano cómo se veía la naturaleza cuando el hombre apenas empezaba a invadirla; vastos bosques y praderas repletos de animales de todos tamaños viviendo libres, y que pocos después desaparecerían casi por completo en nombre del 'progreso'. El recuento de Washington Irving de unas semanas en este impresionante escenario está dotado de una sensibilidad y empatía con la naturaleza que a veces pensamos que es producto de nuestra época moderna; su tristeza al ver a caballos salvajes ser capturados es un sentimiento que podemos compartir por completo.

Este es un libro que describe belleza, pero que al mismo tiempo es crudo, y permite congelar en el tiempo los recuerdos de aquellos días en que la naturaleza florecía, alejada de la mano destructora del hombre.

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 3 out of 5]

Durante un mes nuestro creador de Sleppy hollow hizo una incursión de un mes por los bosques americanos. Este diario no tiene nada emocionante tal como los valoramos: no acción, no intriga, no sospechas, etcétera. Encontraremos múltiples descripciones que disfrutaran los amantes de “El señor de los anillos”. Me ha gustado bastante por su simpleza.

[Christy Morrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading this book. It gives a great description of the Prairie before it was civilized by white men.
Washington Irving joined an expedition in search of bison, wild horses, elk, deer, wild turkeys and other game in the cross timbers of Oklahoma, and the prairie beyond the Arkansas River. They started off from Fort Gibson in Oklahoma-crossed rivers, streams, thickets and prairies. An interesting account of travels before settlement of Europeans.
.

[Delanie Dooms · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had recently finished The Tales of a Traveller by Washington Irving, having only at first known him for his most famous of works, such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Upon finishing the former text, I was enthralled by the writing of an author I had once thought to be quaint and worthy of reading solely for the amusements of the past; therefore, it became apparent that I must continue to tread through the work of this esteemed author, one of the first of the United States, and certainly a Founding Father of that country's literature.

Instead of continuing on through the Library of America's fine volume in which I had found the inciting collection, nor traversing the woodland of his Complete Stories, I settled upon a subject a bit different from what I normally read, but which was a favor medium of Irving's: the travelogue.

Thus, we find ourselves here; and, thus, do we sit to talk upon his trip through what we would modernly call Oklahoma.

Near the beginning of the text, Irving makes references to the "melancholy Jacques" when discussing the destruction of a bee-tree that the rangers cut down in hopes of finding honey. He alludes to the Shakespearean character because of the desolation caused by the rangers unto the bees--believing that Jacques could moralize about it, presumably in the same vein as he does in As You Like It:

Thus most invectively he [Jacques] pierceth through
The body of the country, city, court,
Yea, and of this our life, swearing that we
Are mere usurpers, tyrants and what's worse,
To fright the animals and to kill them up
In their assign'd and native dwelling-place.

Throughout the text, the feeling of powerlessness which Jacques has seems also to come from Irving--if not through his words (or even his actions), then through how we might view his opinions on the people around him, and what he would do if he could change them or the world itself. For example, Irving speaks upon the nobility of the wild horse, and is always thankful that one escapes the capture of his friends (and, at one point, attempts to stop Beatte from shooting a dangerous shot in hopes of hitting just the right stop to paralyze the beast for capture; of course, he is too late, but luckily Beatte misses). The question of him sneaking the beasts that are back into the wilderness is not mentioned. In another example, we often hear him discuss the less-than-amazing conduct of the inexperienced, young rangers he has fallen into company with--the most important comment of which, at least which concerns this part, is his dislike of their wasting of meat by leaving it behind or over-indulging themselves. (If we think upon the buffalo incident, then we might think he didn't like this one bit! But, at the same time, we see a selfish interest, too, for the starvation they experience is in some way the direct result of such prodigality.)

As we read, we also see a marked change in Irving. In some ways Irving is an indulger. As he states: "Man is naturally an animal of prey; and, however changed by civilization, will readily relapse into his instinct for destruction. I found my ravenous and sanguinary propensities daily growing stronger upon the prairies." This leads him, I imagine, in part to kill a buffalo--but immediately upon the death of the beast does he regret it, becoming conscience-stricken.

One of the most notable things pertaining to the text is the influence of racism on the rangers, on Irving, and on his closer companions (like the two Antoine's and Beatte). One of the earliest episodes of the text shows us a scene between a white settler and a Native of the Osage tribe. We first see him having lost his horse and in a rage about it, having assumed that the Natives had stolen it without evidence; this prompts him to go with a violent mind to the Osage camp, only to see the horse being taken back to his place by a Native. The settler is seemingly enraged by this, cannot trust an Indian, apparently, or simply cannot believe they would do right, it seems, and thus ejaculates that this particular Native had contrived to steal the horse and return it in hopes of a reward--a reward, of course, not given by our racist friend. Irving easily uses this story to comment that our friend the racist was in the wrong, but, more particularly, extents the idea of it into a larger hypothesis on why Natives are often inclined toward distrust and violent of whites. Irving shows himself here to be a better man than I had expected of him; indeed, through reading this, and gaining an understanding of the author, I felt simultaneously that I now knew too much about him and too little. I liked and disliked him at the same time. One example of his failing comes from his continual attention to the race of those around him, often referring to Beatte as a "half-breed" before using his name, as if we had forgotten this incredibly important fact, for instance. But this comes to some good, if it does not bring a grand revelation. Irving knows he had a prejudice (he "confesses" this, telling us that he was taught to always distrust "half-breeds"), and, as we progress through the narrative, we can still see inklings of this (referring to him as a "savage" and using "Indian" as a means by which to explain away his abilities), but we also see it lifting to some degree--even to the point that, prefacing a discussion about Beatte's past (which includes admission to having accompanied other Natives on revenge missions against whites), Irving says that his life story significantly raised the man in his personal estimation. Interestingly, Irving seems to have leaned somewhat into this aspect of the story, talking about Antoine (Tonish) and Beatte more than Mr. L and the foolish count. (Tonish--a creole--is used as comic relief throughout the text [with Irving admitting to finding his bragging abilities humorous], and is often seen, contrary to what one expect, to be the "oracle" of the hunters, seeming believed by the foolish youth of inexperience.)

Finally, as a final remark, throughout the narrative, Irving also shows his characteristic humor, and at point seems to mock himself--or, if not mock himself, to show himself to be foolish, too--as in one instance, when he feels the blows of the rangers criticism of him, and the indignity of brutal violence done by Tonish and Beatte against a polecat, which would make a disgusting pungent smell when cooked. The saga of the skinned polecat--which Irving eventually secrets to the bottom of a lake--is hilarious. Characterization is also one of his stronger qualities, and his discussion upon prairie dogs--and his praising of animal industry, like that of the bees and beavers--is quite good.

Irving states in his introduction that this isn't really an adventure or exciting, but I think I must disagree; the meeting of new people, their progress through the world, intermingling with the progress of oneself, is itself an adventure when on a journey. Beatte thus showing himself more to a familiar person than to others is adventurous, and the culmination of Irving's musings are, too. Jokingly, we might say it all lies in the friends one makes on the way--but jokes, used often, and in irony, often seem to come back around and show you a fool for having coyly played with it, only finally to accept that you believe it true.

[Hatuxka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Washington Irving is a celebrated early U.S. American author, introduced to U.S. schoolchildren as the author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winckle", who has a vast body of writing, continually reprinted in various editions for over 150 years. This work is valuable for its description of the pre-white settlement ecological condition of an ecoregion called "The Cross Timbers", which encompasses much of eastern Oklahoma. (the Supreme Court has recently confirmed that this area remains an Indian Reservation and properly subject to administrative control of the tribes originally displaced there from states in the southeastern US by Andrew Jackson. The Cross Timbers were a thickets of brush and forest with clearings that extend north into central Kansas and south into Texas. As in much of such literature on the "frontier", the author notes the parklike splendor of the landscape (increasingly now attributed to native management of the land, probably as a hunting reserve), and it's vastness and abundance of wildlife, as well as in this case, herds of wild horses. As Irving is accompanying the only government commissioner (escorted by a battalion of mounted soldiers ) who actually investigated the lands which the tribes were forcibly removed along the" Trail of Tears". The party travels from a military post near Muskogee, along the Arkansas River through present day Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Norman, then to the open prairies in south central Oklahoma ending in Okmulgee, not far from where they began. The personalities were not of much interest except for a boisterously adventurous Swiss "count", named Pourtales. Described at the outset as "Pawnee hunting grounds", the Cross Timbers on the trip contained few Indians to be seen nor is there the feared and much-anticipated encounter with Pawnees. The encounters are with buffalo, wolves, bears, wild turkeys, and wild horses as well abundant deer and bee hives full of honey. An early version of the Hugh Glass saga of the Hollywood movie, "The Revenant" is told beside the campfire.

[JMM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled by Irving’s descriptive account of a journey he took on the western plains in 1832. He made it all come to life again – night skies, earth-rattling thunderstorms, bee-trees, bears and elk and deer and buffalo. And I was surprised and delighted by his wit and insight, having only known Irving from my childhood experience of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. On the last page, after his return, he writes of how he misses the glorious companionship of the stars. Now that I’ve closed the book, I’m missing them…and Irving, too.

[Scott Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

White people on the loose in Arkansas and Oklahoma, killing everything they see. MAGA! And Irving was there.

[Lili Otero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nos adentramos en una expedición de colonizadores, hacia tierras remotas y extremas donde aún algunas tribus luchan por defender un territorio ancestral; lastimosamente se hace mención de las luchas, principalmente entre estos pueblos aborígenes, que si tal vez, hubieran encontrado puntos en común, habrían podido unirse contra los colonialistas, y tal vez, habrían conservado más territorios y habrían muchos de ellos, sobrevivido a los exterminios que poco a poco fueron desapareciendo a muchos de estos pueblos nativos. Pensé que la narración iba a ser más de expedicionarios que se adentran en el conocimiento de estas tierras indómitas y aún desconocidas, y de paso, en el entendimiento de tantas tribus que aun habitaban los terrenos americanos; pero lo que más se narra, es la caza indiscriminada, por deporte y diversión de los Rangers que iban en esta expedición; una narración que evidencia más la estupidez del hombre blanco: irrespetuoso por la naturaleza y su equilibrio, por los paisajes y selvas que cruzan y por la vida animal; sus actos, conllevaron no solo cazas indiscriminadas de búfalos, aves, osos, lobos y otras especies salvajes, sino que llegaron a exponerse a sí mismos y sobre todo a sus caballos a jornadas extenuantes, casi hasta desfallecer. Es verdad que Washington Irving lleva una narración que nos permite adentrarnos con él en esta travesía, y tiene momentos de verdadera inspiración para transmitirnos un paisaje, o describirnos a un animal en su habitad natural, que ayuda a sobrellevar la lectura que para aquellos que vemos en la caza por diversión, en un acto más de estupidez humana, fue lo que me permitió terminar el libro; pero esperaba una narración menos violenta y más científica, lo cual no fue así.

[Steelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in the area for which Irving's 1832 travels serve as the basis for this book. Thus, I am very familiar with the background and history of the setting. I found this book fascinating and a very perceptive look into the land and the peoples that settled in in this time frame. While Irving no doubt carries with him some of the prejudices of the era, I found his attitude toward the natives peoples very thoughtful and dare I say even progressive for that era. He also provides an insightful look into the treatment of the local game and ecology by those who seem to think that it has no limitation. It is important also to remember that Irving was never really a skilled backwoodsman and had in fact lived in Europe for almost two decades leading up to this tour.

In the annotations to the version I read, the editor compares Irving's tale of the tour with other firsthand accounts by other members of the touring party. It is interesting to see how different parties in the same group saw some of the same events. Needless to say, they do not all tell the same story. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Oklahoma, the settlement of the west, and the "westering" movement of that time period.

[Oklee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of a discussion group and am so glad this book was selected. I am usually not very excited about non-fiction but this book was absolutely fascinating!! The descriptions of the landscape and the experience was very well done. I felt like I was actually there with the group as a time-traveler. The content was very thought provoking. I learned a lot and got a feel for this area that I live in as it was almost 200 years ago. I currently reside south of the route taken by the group but am familiar with several of the places that were described.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as part of group discussion of the history of Oklahoma. More titles to be read over the next 4 months.
Some of the "tour" takes place near where I live so the descriptions of the frontier lands was very interesting. The tone of Mr Irving's writing does indicate the adventuring nature of the trip. It took some time to get used early 19th century style and vocabulary but I was soon carried away with the troop.

[Jan Komrska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful description of a month long hunting expedition from Fort Gibson into the Pawnee land (current Oklahoma). Details of undertaken horseback journey, nature, camping and hunting will bring you back into early 1800s when the grand prairie was abundant in wild life and ever-present dangers. Unfortunately the only objective of this trip was to kill the buffalo and to capture wild horses. This makes you feel uneasy and to question the reason for much wastefulness and cruelty.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable - Irving's always funny writing with an up-close look at the prairies of Oklahoma and Kansas in 1832. The construct of the tour is odd from a modern perspective, a bit exploitative, but he certainly seemed to enjoy a month of gallivanting and hunting with soldiers that don't seem to have much better to do.

[Danny Frolov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very descriptive and informative of the lifestyle of that era, whilst its language and personal experience was excellent, the story lacked depth or intrigue expected in something like this. However it shows how reality was to those men at the time, and the challenges and struggles throughout. Finishing the book left me wanting to go back in time to experience it myself.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travelogue by early American writer Washington Irving, who accompanied a month-long hunting expedition across the Arkansas river into the middle plains and published this chronicle for his contemporary readers.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I particularly enjoyed this book about Washington Irving's tour of territorial Oklahoma

I read this to learn about Oklahoma during its territorial era. I wish there was an annotated edition so I could compare his travel with my present day state.

[Sarah Elizabeth Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit disappointed because the information Irving noticed most was not what I hoped to learn about, but also intrigued because what bits he did share provide remarkable insight into what this area of the country once looked like.

[R B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, I loved this book.

[Graham Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but dry.

[Marc Gingras · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good story! amazing to see how we lived 190 years ago!

[wolfacid · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was so boring
had to read for class and was so unbelievably slow and not interesting

[Russell Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Washington Irving was a young man living in Boston when he had the idea to write this. He was a college boy without much money, but with friends who came from rich families. His friends decided around 1890 to travel by horse to the prairies -- now the U.S. midwest, Kansas and Nebraska. The trip included the territories in between. So that he could afford to go on this trip, Irving convinced a Boston newspaper to accept articles from him that he would write and mail back from trading posts along the way. His articles were so popular that they were later put together into a book.

The stories are fascinating and delightful still today. I had to read it for a course I took at University of New Orleans on early American narratives -- taught by Dan Doll. When I read it, I was struck by the fact that Irving basically just wrote about his vacation and it resulted in a book. That seemed easy: I can write letters, I just need to string them together for a book So I decided to try that. I went on two vacations over the year or two that followed: one by myself to Denver for a week for work; the other with a friend to St. Louis, Missouri. I kept journals during both trips. It felt good and proved to myself that I could write a book. Not long after that I wrote my first novel, In Search of Kafka. This book by Irving not only entertained me, but gave me my start as a novelist. I recommend it highly.

[Sherrill Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not read anything by Washington Irving before this. My bad.

"Our march this day was animating and delightful. We were in a region of adventure; breaking our way through a country hitherto untrodden by white en, excepting perchance by some solitary trapper. The weather was in its perfection--temperate, genial, and enlivening; a deep blue sky, with a few light feather clouds; an atmosphere of perfect transparency; an air pure and bland; and a glorious country spreading out far and wide in the golden sunshine of an autumnal day; but all silent, lifeless,--without a human habitation, and apparently with out a human inhabitant. It was as if a ban hung over this fair but fated region. The very Indians dared not abide here, but made it a mere scene of perilous enterprise, to hunt for a few days, and then away."

There is a reason why Washington Irving is considered one of the best American writers.

[Sydney Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is excellent. Maybe I am interested in it because it is the first written exploration of the Oklahoma area that is so close to where I live. But I also love it because the language is not so different than what we use today, its not so tongue in cheek as Mark Twain's travelogues, and it explores the beauty of the areas with the creatures and inhabitants that occupied it at the time. I do think that this book set the tone for most of our Western cliches. Interesting to learn that they aren't just Hollywood melodrama, but based in fact.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew Irving's tales about old New England -- Rip Van Winkle and so forth -- but his travel writing has been a revelation. His journalist's eye and lyrical pen apply here to an 1832 trip into the Pawnee hunting grounds that later became Oklahoma. What fine writing and keen observation. He opens with an aw-shucks, nothing-much-happens apology, but as the back cover promises, it is indeed a "fabulously entertaining and groundbreaking work."

[Mark Stodghill · Rating 3 out of 5]

well written -- not so much.... good glimpse at the different world view and era---when there were still wild Bison and as many French speakers and English