The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the NorthwestEqual parts biography, natural history, and travelogue, Jack Nisbet tells the story of David Douglas, the 19th century Scottish naturalist and botanical explorer—perfect for amateur naturalists and armchair historians of the Pacific Northwest The Collector tracks Douglas's fascinating history, from his humble birth in Scotland in 1799 to his botanical training under the famed William Jackson Hooker, and details his adventures in North America discovering exotic new plants for the English and European market. Douglas's discoveries include hundreds of western plants--most notably the Douglas Fir. The book takes readers along on Douglas's journeys into a literal brave new world of then-obscure realms from Puget Sound to the Sandwich Islands. “In telling Douglas's story, Nisbet evokes a lost world of early exploration, pristine nature, ambition, and cultural and class conflict with surprisingly modern resonances.” Bookmarks Magazine "An exhilarating biography that provides an entertaining portrait of the unfettered determination that drove one of the giants in the field of botanical exploration and infused the young nation he viewed with a keen and zealous spirit." Booklist |
Contents
TAKING THE SMOKE SUMMERWINTER 1825 | |
THE INTERIOR YEAR SPRING 1826 | |
SLEEPING ON SHATTERED STONES SUMMER 1826 | |
THE PERFECT ENTHUSIAST FALL 1826SPRING 1827 | |
CROWN OF THE CONTINENT SPRINGSUMMER 1827 | |
A SCIENTIFICK NATURALIST FALL 1827FALL 1829 | |
BREATHING NEW CLIMATES FALL 1829FALL 1832 | |
THE CANYON WINTER 1832SUMMER 1833 | |
CRATERS 1834 | |
EPILOGUE | |
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Common terms and phrases
Abridged Sketch American Archibald Archibald McDonald Barnston birds Booth Botanical botanist brigade British Columbia California camp canoe Chinook Chiswick Chumtalia collecting collector Colvile Creek David Douglas Douglas to Hooker Douglas wrote Douglas’s downstream dried Edward Sabine England Ermatinger expedition Finan Finlay fire Flora Fort Colvile Fort Vancouver Fort Walla Walla gardens gathered George grouse Hawaiian Hilo Hooker Papers horses Horticultural Society Hudson’s Bay Company hunters ibid Indians Island John John McLoughlin Joseph Sabine Journal journey Kalapuya Kettle Falls Lake letter Lindley Linnean Society London McDonald McLeod McLoughlin miles morning mountain naturalist North Northwest Okanagan Oregon paddlers party pine plants reached River rocky Royal Horticultural Society salmon Scouler seeds sewelel ship shore skins Society’s species specimens Spokane spring Thomas Nuttall tobacco trail traveled tree tribal tribes Umpqua upstream Vancouver village voyageurs Walla Walla Willamette William and Ann William Hartnell