Adventures In Mexico And The Rocky Mountains

GEORGE F RUXTON

Publication: John Murray, 1847, London

First Edition. 12mo. Original Red Cloth, titles stamped in gold gilt on the spine, viii, 332 pp., Preface. An important first-hand account of travel through Mexico to the Rocky Mountains in the 1840's. An Englishman, Ruxton was sent to Mexico in 1846 by the British Government to assure the British subjects in Mexico that, despite the current war between the U.S. and Mexico, England would protect them. Having completed his duty, Ruxton traveled northward through Mexico from Vera Cruz to Santa Fe. Unimpressed with Albuquerque and Santa Fe, he continued northward, missing by only days the Taos Uprising that killed many prominent Americans. Ruxton spent time among the trappers in the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado. He is famous for his descriptions of these trappers in his books. "No man was to equal him in his portrayal of the Rockies and their Mountain Men..."--Theodore Roosevelt. Many scholars suspect that Ruxton was an agent of the British military "spying" on events associated with the Mexican War. He provided a very valuable professional estimate of Mexican arms and abilities as he saw them during the crucial months before the war as he traveled through Mexico to Santa Fe. He held a very low opinion of the Mexican character and of Mexican chances against the U. S. Some light rubbing and some very light edgewear. Very good-near fine. --AND-- LIFE IN THE FAR WEST, Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1849. First Edition. 12mo. Original Red Cloth. xvi, 312pp. One of the great classics of the American Southwest. Ruxton had, in the words of LeRoy Hafen, "a genius for repeating the picturesque language of his trapper companions." and his mind was filled with trappers' tales he heard during his long winter at Pueblo. He linked the tales together in the form of a novel, in which there was no fiction except the names he gave to the two or three central figures. Ruxton died at St. Louis in August, 1848, at the early age of 27. The first 14 pages of this work tells of Ruxton's life and death, entitled "The Late George Frederick Ruxton". Previous owners bookplate on front endpaper. Some cracking to inner hinges, yet holding very well. Some rubbing and some very slight edgewear. Very good-near fine. Both volumes protected in a custom slipcase, with titles, author, and years of publication in gilt on leather label on spine. The rare offering of both of Ruxton's classic accounts of life in the Southwest and the southern Rockies...both in original bindings.

Inventory Number: 53122