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[1858 travel diary of an anonymous Bostonian.]

Boston to Kansas and various other American locales, 1858. 18 mo. 111 pp. of manuscript, various clippings annexed to leaves.

A valuable travel diary kept by a Bostonian who sells his property in the East and travels some 5,000 miles through the West looking for a new home, visiting Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and recording his encounters with Native Americans.

This diary is unusual for its extended descriptions of Madison and Milwaukee, and for the time the diarist spends at the edge of settlement in the Kansas Territory and western Missouri. The diary commences on March 11th, 1858, when the diarist departs from Boston and makes for Vermont. Along the way, the he meets William H. Russell (Waddell and Russell, who started the Pony Express in 1860) and makes remarks on Russell's freight business. Upon visiting Madison, the traveler remarks: "This is the most delightful city I ever saw—situated between, & almost surrounded by two beautiful lakes." He concludes: "Madison is, for natural scenery, unsurpassed by any city on this continent." The Bostonian is also impressed by the city of Milwaukee; he writes: “here is one of the finest cities of the West." Here he makes note of the large amphitheater.

Valuable notes are offered on travel conditions; on numerous small towns and hamlets; and on figures of local note, such as a certain Mr. Chase, the owner of the Virginia Hotel in Jefferson City, Missouri. The Bostonian describes Chase as "a very pleasant and intelligent gentleman [who] owns quite a number of slaves—quite a slave breeder."

He also mentions various Indian tribes; disaffected Mormons returning from Utah; and the conditions at Fort Leavenworth, Independence, St. Joseph, and other western towns. In Leavenworth, Kansas, the diarist makes note of “long trails of Delaware Indians returning from hunting.” In Lawrence, Kansas, he appears to record interactions with Indians, copying their broken English in one entry: "Indians no drink whiskey." Later in the diary he also appears to make notations of his dealings with Delaware and Shawnee Indians.

An interesting diary kept by a Bostonian relating his visits to Madison and Milwaukee, and making note of his encounters with Native Americans.

CONDITION: Good.

Item #4238

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