First edition of "one of the most important contributions to the history of early western North American exploration" (Bruns). The author was a member of Capt. N.J. Wyeth's party with left Missouri in April, 1894. Townsend was an ornithologist. Thomas Nuttall made the reports on the natural history of the regions. "Townsend also gives in-depth observations of the manners and customs of the Indians and of the lives of the fur traders in the Columbia region. On the return trip, Tahiti and Juan Fernandez Island were visited" (Hill). There are two ownership signatures on the title page. Bruns T 60; Howes T 319; Hill, p. 292-3.