Louis François de Pourtalés letters to E. Meriam

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  Antoine-François de Fourcroy and Gaspard Monge letter to the Minister of the Marine

  Manuscripts

  The letter from Antoine-François de Foureroy and Gaspard Monge to the Minister of the Marine regards Citoyen [Jean-François?] Clouet. The letter is dated 1 Ventôse, l'an 9 de la République française [1801 June 1], and is written in French from Paris. One page is torn.

  mssHM 83080

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  François Arago letter to James Silk Buckingham

  Manuscripts

  Letter written by François Arago to James Silk Buckingham. Arago wrote the letter from Paris in his capacity as secretary of the Académie Royale des Sciences, Institutes de France, addressing Buckingham as the Commandent de Buckingham, Paris. The letter regards Buckingham's published prospectus for a voyage around the world, Esquisse d'un Plan de Voyage autour du Monde par la Route des Indes, de la Chine, du Japon et des îles de l'Océan Pacifique: Ayant pour but les Intérêts Combinés des Découvertes, de la Civilisation et du Commerce. The letter is in French. A second page of writing consists of Buckingham's address.

  mssHM 83058

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  Pierre-Jean de Smet letter to John Dawson Gilmary Shea

  Manuscripts

  Writing from St. Louis University in Missouri, de Smet is happy to help with compiling information for Shea's almanac. When the almanac is ready, de Smet asks that a copy be sent to his native Belgium.

  mssHM 4018

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  Josiah Royce letters to Henry L. Oak

  Manuscripts

  This group of manuscripts is a series of letters from philosopher and historian Josiah Royce to Henry L. Oak, a librarian in California who was part of the founding of the Bancroft Library, which was known as the Pacific Library in its early years. The letters are dated between 1884 and 1886. In HM 20132, Royce writes of the book on California history that he is writing, with advice from Oak. Details of Royce's interview with General John C. Frémont and a possible conspiracy are in HM 20147 and HM 20133. Royce tells of his trip to Washington D. C. to search for "the Frémost documents" in HM 20134, where he failed to find a trace of "any secret instruction" for Frémont. It appears that Royce may have found such evidence in Oak's collections at the Bancroft Library, and considers presenting it to Frémont to gauge his reaction. Royce gives Oak permission to use whatever information from the interview he may find interesting for his own purposes. In his own book, he has included "an elaborate attack on Frémont's honor." Most of the letters are concerned with Frémont's apparent indiscretion and Royce's pending book on the matter, and Royce is keeping Oak informed as Oak's information played an important role in Royce's developing story. HM 20138, dated 1885, August 29, has cross-hatch writing on the first page. By mid-1886 (HM 20143, June 20), Royce's book has been published, and he discusses the resulting reviews and criticism. In July, Royce is happy to accept a list of suggestions from Oak to improve a future edition of his book (HM 20144, July 26), and upon the finding of a mistake in his book, asks Oak to "keep this on file as record of my discovery of my own blunder" while also requesting him to "let me know in case there should be any noteworthy attack on my book from any respectable source" (HM 20145, July 29).

  mssHM 20132-20147

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  Agnes Gallicker diary of an automobile trip from Iowa to the Pacific Coast

  Manuscripts

  Diary kept by Agnes Gallicker as she and seven friends drove from Iowa across the Great Plains to the Pacific Coast from June to August of 1924. Most of the women were inexperienced drivers, and Agnes makes frequent references to the difficulties of automobile travel, including punctured tires and other mechanical failures, avoiding a "speed cop," and navigating often unpaved or damaged roadways. Agnes herself was a confident driver, and on her days off from driving noted that "my suggestions (driving from the backseat) were well (?) received." Agnes also describes a variety of fellow motorists they met along the way, including three young Dutchmen who helped them with car troubles at different stops along their route. Some encounters were less successful, and Agnes's motto became "Don't pick up with strange men." The diary opens on June 12, the day the women departed from their homes in Iowa. They spent much of their time traveling along the Lincoln Highway and spent each night camping out. In Iowa they passed through Marshalltown and Ledges State Park before driving quickly through Nebraska. Agnes noted with some awe their first view of the Rocky Mountains from Goodrich, Colorado. They also passed through Denver (where Agnes and another of the girls were "looked upon as Indians - People came out...to gawk at us"), Bear Creek Canyon, Colorado Springs, Big Thompson Canyon, and Rocky Mountain National Park, and hiked to Bear Lake (June 25). In Wyoming they drove through Laramie and stopped for a picnic after leaving Fort Steele. "Any place was as good as the other so we ate out on a desert," Agnes wrote, adding that "sand storms [are] similar to Iowa snow storms" (June 27). In Utah they saw Ogden and Salt Lake City (they missed some of the Mormon sites due to arriving on a Sunday, but eventually saw an organ concert at the Tabernacle), and in Idaho drove from Boise to The Dalles along the Columbia River. After ferrying across the Willamette River, they drove down to California, where they saw Mount Shasta and stopped in Redding, Stockton, Buck Meadows (near Yosemite, where Agnes did not go), and Oakland, and saw the Presidio Recruiting Station in San Francisco, went wading in the Pacific Ocean, and passed by U.C. Berkeley. When they tried to pay a portion of a car repair bill in pennies, Agnes wrote that the attendant told them "Californians don't care for pennies - they throw them away. Rich!!". The women then drove north toward Oregon, passing Mount Siskiyou and stopping at Klamath Falls and Crater Lake. In Washington they saw Mount Rainier National Park, Seattle, Snoqualmie Falls, and Spokane, and took a day trip to Victoria, British Columbia. In early August they began their trip home, and Agnes' diary describes touring the State Prison and Anaconda Reduction Works in Montana (Aug.4), spending two days at Yellowstone National Park (Aug.6-7), and driving through the Badlands to the Red River Valley. Her diary ends on August 17, when they were near the Elk River.

  mssHM 78235