Exploring with Frémont

by Charles Preuss

Private diaries of the cartographer who explored the western United States with John C. Frémont on his first, second and fourth expeditions.

Genres: Travel, History, Nonfiction, Memoir

162 pages

First published January 1, 1958

Reviews

[Avis Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author explored with Fremont, and bitched and complained every inch of the way. His deadpan humor is still quite admirable even a hundred and fifty years later.

[Sundry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this sort of thing...old journals. I heard about this book on NPR's This American Life and found it at the library.

Truly amusing and amazing account of Pruess's experiences with the Fremont party as it explored the U.S. west. It would be really interesting to read Fremont's and Kern's accounts side by side with Preuss's. Some of the footnotes quote from the others' writings, and Preuss's private aggravation becomes laugh out loud funny.

Instructive as a writer, too, to see how much the man's private misery and sometimes sarcasm plays against Fremont's cheery and whitewashed telling of the same tales.

There's also a lot of hardship. It's just amazing what these men endured and how many didn't make it back sometimes, due to hunger and/or cold. You do have to wonder what possessed them to cross the Rockies in December, for Pete's sake. Heck, I wouldn't really like to do that in an SUV, let alone on the back of a mule.

Makes me want to read more!!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this book on This American Life. Some of the excerpts from the Preuss diary were read by an actor, and it sounds hilarious. I always think about frontier explorers as ruthless adventurers, but this guy was a bit prissy. The fact that he is a well known cartographer also piqued my interest.

[Carrie Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Preuss writes like the German science-minded man he was with plain spoken descriptions of what travelling through the west was like for a European tenderfoot. His illustrations provide beauty and calm to the otherwise calamitous trek to the west. It was a pleasure to time travel through the pre-Civil war continent when California was still Mexico and indigenous peoples were a dominant community in the country. Historically significant and enjoyed Preuss's observations coming from a foreign born American during the formation of the United States.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because of the exerpts presented by Sarah Vowell on This American Life. Preuss traveled with Fremont on three expeditions, and grumbled the whole way.