Views of Louisiana

Henry Brackenridge was an explorer and journalist who embarked on his career in the early 19th century; through his journeys, we gain here an impression of Louisiana at the time.

This travelogue takes us up the Missouri river and through many miles of bayou country, in landscapes hitherto uncharted. The journey of the author and his small company is full of sights; Native American tribes, native wildlife such as the buffalo, and the many unusual plants. Descriptions of the countryside, its hills, the sacred groves which the native tribes venerated, and of the river itself abound.

This superb book serves as an insightful snapshot of how life was for people who had settled near the Missouri and Mississippi rivers at the beginning of the 19th century. A harsh wilderness whose bounties had scarcely been explored, it was this reality which Brackenridge ventured forth with a view of surviving and recounting his journey against dangers and obstacles.

At the time of writing, Louisiana was an expanse of river and marshland. Man had not yet engineered the rivers to his own ends; undiverted, untamed, and mostly untouched by human habitation, it is in this book that readers gain an image - at times sublime, at times foreboding - of a world lost to time.

For the young Henry Brackenridge, life entailed adventure and excitement at the expense of danger. His intrepid expedition would be the first of many such adventures; his knowledge of the land saw him serve as an intelligence officer in the War of 1812. He later ventured on a government expedition to South America, before seeking and gaining public office - first in the judiciary, and later in the U. S. House of Representatives.