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(More customer reviews)In the mid-19th century, the expansions of an American West whether by war-time acquisition or phenomena such as the California Goldrush were preceded by dedicated exploration by the U.S. government who sought to understand the geography, topography, and natural resources of what had been acquired. "Exploring Desert Stone: John N. Macomb's 1859 Expedition to the Canyonlands of the Colorado" by historian and author Steven K. Madsen focuses on the very first U.S. government expedition to explore the canyon country and the Four Corners area near what is now Moab, Utah, a region that even today is difficult to access. Following the Old Spanish Trail seeking routes into Utah (made even more urgent because of the recent 'Utah War' where federal troops occupied key parts of the newly emergent Mormon country under the control of Brigham Young whose policy of polygamy had gained the ire of the U.S. government), the exploratory groups of topographical engineers under the command of John Macomb created a documentary record of their efforts, as well as the first detailed map of the era. Their story and their achievements are now available under the deft and painstaking historical scholarship of Steven Madsen. Enhanced with an extensive Bibliography and a comprehensive Index, "Exploring Desert Stone" is a seminal and invaluable contribution, and should be a core addition to academic library 19th Century American History collections, as well as supplemental reading lists for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the history and development of the American West.
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The confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, now in Canyonlands National Park, near popular tourist destination Moab, still cannot be reached or viewed easily. Much of the surrounding region remained remote and rarely visited for decades after settlement of other parts of the West. The first U.S. government expedition to explore the canyon country and the Four Corners area was led by John Macomb of the army's topographical engineers. The soldiers and scientists followed in part the Old Spanish Trail, whose location they documented and verified. Seeking to find the confluence of the Colorado and the Green and looking for alternative routes into Utah, which was of particular interest in the wake of the Utah War, they produced a substantial documentary record, most of which is published for the first time in this volume. Theirs is also the first detailed map of the region, and it is published in Exploring Desert Stone, as well.
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