1800-1860: The Arts: Publications

William Apess, A Son of the Forest (New York: Author, 1829)—the autobiography of a Pequot who converted to Christianity, fought for the Americans in the War of 1812, and championed the rights of Native Americans;

Charles Averill, Kit Carson, The Prince of the Gold Hunters (Boston: G. H. Williams, 1849)—adventure novels such as Averill’s helped establish (and exaggerate) the legend of Kit Carson, famed scout and soldier;

George Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs and Conditions of the North American Indians, 2 volumes (London: Published by the author, 1841)—Catlin’s account of his travels into the West; especially noteworthy for his documentation of the lives of Native Americans;

James Fenimore Cooper, The Deerslayer, 2 volumes (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1841)—the last novel in the Leatherstocking series demonstrates Cooper’s maturity as a novelist and growing religious vision;

Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757, 2 volumes (Philadelphia: H. C. Carey & I. Lea, 1826)—the second in the Leatherstocking series; a thrilling adventure featuring Natty Bumppo as the young Hawkeye;

Cooper, The Pioneers, 2 volumes (New York: Charles Wiley, 1823)—the first in the Leatherstocking series. Set in the new settlement of Templeton, the novel establishes the moral conflicts that will inform the entire series: civilization v. nature; law v. virtue; individual v. society;

Cooper, The Prairie, 2 volumes (Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Carey, 1827)—the third in the Leatherstocking series. Featuring Natty as an older man, the novel suggests that the wilderness and Natty’s natural virtue are being overrun by the advances of American civilization;

George Copway, The Life, History, and Travels of Kahj-ge-ga-gah-bowh (Albany: Weed & Parsons, 1847)—like the Apess autobiography, this Ojibwa autobiography is a tale of Christian salvation, but also critiques American racism and documents life among the Ojibwa;

Richard Henry Dana Jr., Two Years Before the Mast (New York: Harper, 1840)—a vivid and exciting recounting of Dana’s experiences sailing around Cape Horn, of South America, and in Spanish California. Dana’s book continues to influence American literature of the sea and is considered a minor masterpiece;

Alonzo Delano, Pen Knife Sketches; or, Chips of the Old Block (Sacramento: Published at the Union Office, 1853)—a collection of “Old Block’s” articles for the Pacific News that sold more than fifteen thousand copies in California. Old Block drew a sympathetic, rueful portrait of life in the gold mines;

Timothy Flint, Biographical Memoir of Daniel Boone (Cincinnati: N. & G. Guilford, 1833)—Flint’s immensely influential biography of Daniel Boone established Boone as an icon within popular literature;

Margaret Fuller, Summer on the Lakes (Boston: Charles C. Little & James Brown; New York: Charles S. Francis, 1844)—influenced by Caroline Kirkland’s novel, A New Home—Who’ll Follow (1839), Fuller, New England transcendentalist and feminist, describes the beautiful but often harsh, isolated conditions of the Midwest frontier;

Caroline Kirkland, A New Home—Who’ll Follow? (New York: C. S. Francis; Boston: J. H. Francis, 1839)—Kirkland’s realistic and satirical account of life on the Midwestern frontier;

Francis Parkman, The California and Oregon Trail (New York: Putnam, 1849)—the young Parkman’s account of his exploration beyond the Missouri River reveals much about Eastern attitudes toward the West;

John Rollin Ridge, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit (San Francisco: F. MacCrellish, 1854)—the first novel in English by a Native American. Ridge recounts the popular legend of Joaquin Murieta, a Mexican bandit who avenges abuse suffered at the hands of Americans;

Charles Sealsfield, The Cabin Book, translated by C. F. Mersch (New York: J. Winchester, 1844)—Sealsfield’s epic narrative of the movement of American civilization from the East to the West. The novel centers on the struggle for Texan independence;

Catherine Soule, Pet of the Settlement: A Story of Prairie-Land (Boston: A. Tompkins, 1860)—Soule’s optimistic and colorful vision of life on the prairies. The novel is notable for transferring literary domesticity to a Western setting.