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Map of Oregon Territory.
Utica, New York: Engd by M[oody]. M[orse]. Peabody, 1838. Engraving, 13.75” x 23”, sheet size, 15.5” x 23.5”. CONDITION: Very good, light staining in margins, reinforced with Japanese tissue at verso; lower half of right margin extended with Japanese tissue. A landmark map of Oregon Territory by Rev. Samuel Parker, an early missionary to the region. This pioneering map was produced to accompany Parker’s travel account, Journal of an Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains. It marked a major advance in the cartographic understanding of the region, featuring more accurate depictions of the interior of the Oregon Territory. The map extends westward from the Missouri River valley across the Rockies to the Pacific, and northward from Cape Mendocino to British Columbia (Parker states he relied heavily on the surveys of the Hudson Bay Company to complete the map in these parts). It shows river systems, lakes, mountains ranges, forts, and the locations of Native American tribes. Topographic relief is shown in hachures. Longitude is provided in degrees west of Greenwich and Washington D.C., while scale is given in English miles, with 69 miles equalling one degree of longitude. The map’s grand scope reflects Parker’s overlapping objectives in undertaking the expedition: to identify sites for future evangelization among Native tribes, and to document the geography of the surrounding country to enable such work. As with many early missionary expeditions to lesser-known areas, the geographic and ethnographic knowledge produced became important to secular interests, helping to pave the way for the Oregon Trail. Parker’s expedition was sponsored by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, which tasked him in 1834 with establishing contact with tribes in the area and laying the groundwork for future missions. As Parker writes: “While it was a leading object to become acquainted with the situation of the remote Indian tribes, and their disposition in regard to teachers of Christianity, yet a careful attention was given to the geography of the country…and all the various aspects of its physical condition.” Traveling up the Missouri River, Parker traversed the Rockies, rendezvoused with an American Fur Company party at the Green River, and traveled down the Snake and Columbia Rivers to Fort Vancouver, where he continued scouting sites in the Willamette Valley. His route does not appear on the map, which stands alone. In his account, Parker details interactions with Native Americans and various attempts to preach the gospel, often without the use of a translator. While showing sympathy in some cases, Parker fervently expresses his view throughout the book that Native Americans must adopt Christianity in order to prevent their destruction. Among the tribes he worked with were the Cayuse, Nez Perce, and Flathead. Rev. Samuel Parker (1779–1866) graduated from Williams College and Andover Theological Seminary, and was the first Presbyterian missionary to travel to the Pacific Northwest. He completed his expedition to the Oregon territory between 1834 and 1836, identifying several sites in the Willamette and Columbia valleys that were later used by missionaries. For part of the way, Parker traveled with Marcus Whitman, another missionary who was killed in 1847 as he was leading settlers across the Oregon Trail. Following the end of Parker’s mission, he caught a boat to Hawaii and returned to Boston. REFERENCES: Parker, Samuel. Journal of an Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains (Ithaca, New York: Andrus, Woodruff, & Gauntlett, 1938).
Item #9456
Price: $450.00
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