Excerpt from Pioneer Days in the Early Southwest Three miles northeast of Muskogee the Verdigris and Grand rivers half a mile apart, discharge their waters into the Arkansas, which thus augmented, ows in a southeasterly direction to the Mississippi, six hun dred miles distant by the course of the stream. This junction of the three rivers, establishing the head of navigation, became known in early times as the Three Forks, or more commonly, as the mouth of the Ver digris. In the days when river navigation played such a tremendously important part in the life of this west ern country, the mouth of the Verdigris maintained for many years an importance that long since has passed away and been forgotten. As a trading center and theatre of military and more peaceful operations in the winning of this country, it was second to none west of the Mississippi. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

Introduction by Donald E. Worcerster. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Scottish-born William Dunbar (1750–1810) is recognized by Mississippi and Southwest historians as one of the most successful planters, agricultural innovators, explorers, and scientists to emerge from the Mississippi Territory. Despite his successes, however, history books abridge his contributions to America's early national years to a few passing sentences or footnotes. William Dunbar: Scientific Pioneer of the Old Southwest rectifies past neglect, paying tribute to a man whose life was driven by the need to know and the willingness to suffer in pursuit of knowledge. From the beginning, research, contemplation, and scholarship formed the template by which Dunbar would structure his life. His mother's insistence on education motivated him throughout his youth, and in 1771, he sailed to America, prepared to seize any and all opportunities. Settling in the Mississippi territory, Dunbar embarked on the endeavors that would soon gain him renown. He surveyed the boundary between Spanish West Florida and the United States and contributed heavily to the rise of cotton culture through his inventions and innovations in agricultural technology. In 1804, at the same time that Lewis and Clark were making their way up the Missouri River, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Dunbar—now a fellow member of the prestigious American Philosophical Society—to lead a similar exploration of the southern Louisiana Purchase territory. The 103-day expedition captured the imagination of Americans looking to move westward and yielded the first information about the geographical, geological, and meteorological characteristics of the old Southwest. Arthur H. DeRosier Jr. traces Dunbar's life from his ambition as a youth to his development into a man recognized by his contemporaries as a leader in many scientific fields. Drawing upon the private journal of Dunbar's granddaughter Virginia Dunbar McQueen and neglected historical annals, William Dunbar examines Dunbar's public and private life, the scope of his interests, and the lasting contributions he left to a country and people he loved.

DICTIONARY OF INDIAN TRIBES OF THE AMERICAS - Second Edition contains information on over 1,150 tribal nations of the entire western hemisphere, from the Aleuts of the Arctic region to Onas in southern Argentina and Chile. This is a contemporary work and its intention is to bring modern day insights to the consideration of the native peoples who populate the western hemisphere. Every effort has been made to include tribes that have not been extensively covered in other publications. Modern anthropologists and historians tend to agree that there is a basic homogeneity (cultural, social, biological, or other similarities within a group) among the native peoples of the Americas that need to be considered when any of the tribes are studied. The tribal entries were written by noted local, national and international historians and anthropologists.

One of the great festival traditions shared by Pueblo and Hispano across New Mexico is the celebration Los Comanches. In this series of winter festivals, communities come alive with colorful processions, boisterous ceremonial dance, allegorical nativity plays, and a folk drama on horseback which portrays the 1779 defeat of famed war chief Cuerno Verde. In a mixture of defiance and emulation, these events honor the historic relations of war and peace with the Comanches, the feared and admired warriors and traders of the south plains who once held the fate of all New Mexico in their hands. Lamadrid and Gandert provide historic, poetic, and photographic documentation of one of the richest legacies of the upper Rio Grande, a cultural crossroads known for its mestizo traditions and transcultural exchanges. A CD anthology of "Comanche" music accompanies a stunning selection of Gandert's photographs.

In v.1-8 the final number consists of the Commencement annual.