Title: California's frontier naturalists /
Authors: Beidleman, Richard G.
Publisher: University of California Press,
Year: 2006
Subjects: Natural history California; Scientific expeditions California.; Naturalists California History.; Natural History history; Expeditions history; California
Abstract: This book chronicles the fascinating story of the enthusiastic, stalwart, and talented naturalists who were drawn to California's spectacular natural bounty over the decades from 1786, when the La Perouse Expedition arrived at Monterey, to the Death Valley expedition in 1890-91, the proclaimed "end" of the American frontier. Richard G. Beidleman's engaging and marvelously detailed narrative describes these botanists, zoologists, geologists, paleontologists, astronomers, and ethnologists as they camped under stars and faced blizzards, made discoveries and amassed collections, kept journals and lost valuables, sketched flowers and landscapes, recorded comets and native languages. He weaves together the stories of their lives, their demanding fieldwork, their contributions to science, and their exciting adventures against the backdrop of California and world history. California's Frontier Naturalists covers all the major expeditions to California as well as individual and institutional explorations, introducing naturalists who accompanied boundary surveys, joined federal railroad parties, traveled with river topographical expeditions, accompanied troops involved with the Mexican War, and made up California's own geological survey. Among these early naturalists are famous names--David Douglas, Thomas Nuttall, John Charles Fremont, William Brewer--as well as those who are less well-known, including Paolo Botta, Richard Hinds, and Sara Lemmon.
Contents: Captain Cook -- The cornucopia of California -- The French La Pérouse expedition at Monterey, 1786 -- The Spanish Malaspina expedition with naturalist Haenke, 1791 -- The British Vancouver expedition with Menzies, 1792-1795 -- The Russian Rezanov expedition with Langsdorff, 1806 -- Russia visits again. The Rurik visit with Kotzebue, Chamisso, and Eschscholtz, 1816. The Predpriatie visit with Kotzebue and Eschscholtz, 1824 -- HMS Blossom's visit with Beechey, Collie, and Lay, 1826-1827 -- HMS Sulphur's visit with Belcher, Hinds, and Barclay, 1837 and 1839 -- The French visit again. The voyage of the Héros, 1827-1828. The voyage of the Vénus, 1837 -- The United States Exploring Expedition in California, 1841 -- David Douglas : Don David el botánico -- Thomas Coulter : first to the California desert -- A frontier naturalist and his protégé visit California separately. Thomas Nuttall : "Old Curious." William Gambel : the first naturalist across the Southwest --^