Overview

Country Never Yet Trod: William Lewis Manly’s Voyage Down the Green River, traces Manly’s little-known descent of the Green River, twenty years before John Wesley Powell’s famous first expedition, followed by his overland trek through some of the most desolate stretches of Utah. Previous scholarship has Manly floating only 292 miles to the Uinta Basin, but as he researched, Kane became convinced Manley went 150 miles further, all the way to what is now Green River, Utah. To prove it, he did all the primary research he could, and then he built his own wooden canoes and made the trip himself, tracing Manly’s footsteps and comparing notes with the earlier traveler. This book lays out Manly’s story, interspersed with Kane’s journal entries and photographs documenting his own trip.

Full Product Details

9781493060955

Table of Contents

Reviews

William Lewis Manly is best known for his book, Death Valley in '49, a travel narrative about his trek to California in 1849. At one point, Manly chose to ride the Green River from Wyoming to its junction with the Colorado River, and then planned to navigate the Colorado as far as possible before debarking and finishing up in California. Fortunately, when his buffeted adventurers reached the Green River Crossing, just short of the Colorado, he encountered a band of Western Ute traders led by the well known raider and trader, Chief Wákara. The meeting was fortuitous, for the trail-wise chief was well versed in the territory and the trail to California. His advice to not continue down the river, but to take the better-known Spanish Trail the rest of the way, may well have saved Manly's life and the lives of all his companions. Manly's travel narrative has given us an invaluable record of the early West. But also important is his positive description of the often enigmatic, sometimes vacillating, and too often maligned, Wákara. But Manly describes a man who was reasonable and helpful, and who chose to go out of his way to help and guide the American travelers when they were clearly headed for trouble. Michael Kane's book also provides a deeper look at William Lewis Manly, the man, and the context from which he arose. Kane describes the events and attitudes that shaped Manly's attitudes and outlooks on life, and which led him to be among the vanguard heading to California. It is also an additional glimpse into the nature of the many early adventurers who risked all to get to California ... or those other beckoning Utopias of the West--Oregon, or Taos, or the fur-bonanza of the Rocky Mountains.

William Lewis Manly is best known for his book, Death Valley in '49, a travel narrative about his trek to California in 1849. At one point, Manly chose to ride the Green River from Wyoming to its junction with the Colorado River, and then planned to navigate the Colorado as far as possible before debarking and finishing up in California. Fortunately, when his buffeted adventurers reached the Green River Crossing, just short of the Colorado, he encountered a band of Western Ute traders led by the well known raider and trader, Chief W�kara. The meeting was fortuitous, for the trail-wise chief was well versed in the territory and the trail to California. His advice to not continue down the river, but to take the better-known Spanish Trail the rest of the way, may well have saved Manly's life and the lives of all his companions. Manly's travel narrative has given us an invaluable record of the early West. But also important is his positive description of the often enigmatic, sometimes vacillating, and too often maligned, W�kara. But Manly describes a man who was reasonable and helpful, and who chose to go out of his way to help and guide the American travelers when they were clearly headed for trouble. Michael Kane's book also provides a deeper look at William Lewis Manly, the man, and the context from which he arose. Kane describes the events and attitudes that shaped Manly's attitudes and outlooks on life, and which led him to be among the vanguard heading to California. It is also an additional glimpse into the nature of the many early adventurers who risked all to get to California ... or those other beckoning Utopias of the West--Oregon, or Taos, or the fur-bonanza of the Rocky Mountains.

Author Information

Michael Kane received his BS, MS, and Ph.D from the University of Utah, studying recreation and hospitality management. Under his direction, Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort has been awarded one of the top 6 adventure resorts in America by U.S. News and World Report. He is also an instructor and and a former director of basketball operations for the University of Utah, and an advisory council member to the University of Utah Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. His research into the historical documents from the 1800s to present, and then his experiences following the trail of William Lewis Manly in a dug out wood canoe and on foot, helps him recreate routes taken, hardships shared, and the benevolent brotherhood demonstrated by these American 49ers and Native Americans Indians they encountered. Kane lives in the Zion country of Southern Utah.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available