In Mohawk Country

SKU: 0815604106

Author:
Charles T. Gehring, Dean R. Snow, William A. Starna
Grade Levels:
College, University
Nation:
Iroquois, Mohawk, Oneida, Woodland
Book Type:
Paperback
Pages:
405
Publisher:
Syracuse University Press

Price:
Sale price$31.95

Description

In Mohawk Country: Early Narratives about a Native People is a collection of 38 documentary narratives by European travellers, priests, soldiers, and traders from 1635 to 1810. The collection was compiled by archaeologist Dean Snow, anthropologist William Starna, and linguist Charles Gehring as source material to assist the Mohawk Valley Project. Most of the narratives have been published but are now out of print. 
The collection begins with a brief background to the Mohawk Valley Project and the reason for compiling the narratives. The authors note that while the selections contain the biases of the writers these narratives can add to our understanding of Europeans and their relationships with the Mohawk over a two century period. The travellers, traders, priests, and soldiers each have their particular reasons for documenting their travels through Mohawk territory and their interactions with the Mohawk people of New York they meet. Each traveller writes about events that interest him. Some write about the location of Mohawk villages, cultural practices, the landscape, flora and fauna, and the morals of the people they encounter.  
The book contains several maps and a bibliography. Accounts include such well-known narratives as A Journey into Mohawk and Oneida Country, 1634-1635 by Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert; A Short Account of the Mohawk Indians, 1644 by Johannes Megapolensis, Jr.; Voyages of Pierre Esprit Radisson, 1651-1654 by Pierre Esprit Radisson; Observations of Wentworth Greenhalgh in a Journey from Albany to the Indians Westward, 1677 by Wentworth Greenhalgh; A Journey to Onondaga, 1750 by Christian Daniel Claus and Conrad Weiser; and Dr. Belknap's Tour to Oneida, 1796 by Jeremy Belknap. The final accounts from 1796 to 1810 describe the immense change that has come to the Mohawk Valley following the American Revolution and overwhelming presence of European settlers in the Mohawk's original territory. The final entry describes the countryside just prior to the construction of the Erie Canal. Overall this is a valuable resource for historians and others interested in the Mohawk Valley.

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