Free Kindle PNW History Books

Amazon.com has quite a few really good Pacific Northwest History books for free, for Kindle right now.

The first one is one of my favorite – early Oregon History books. A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information by William Henry Gray. This covers all the way from the earliest traders before Doctor John McLoughlin’s time, up to the Cayuse war. It also talks extensively about missions in the area, along with Geography, Agriculture, and the Northern Pacific Railroad.

The second one is an early 20th Century Tourist Guidebook to the state of Washington; called “The Beauties of the State of Washington A Book for Tourists by Harry F. Giles who was Deputy Commissioner of the State Bureau of Statistics & Immigration in that year.

Even though this book is nearly 100 years old, it is amazing how accurate it still remains. One could almost use this book to plan their travels in the State of Washington. Of course, commerce has changed since then, and a several towns talked about are mere ghost towns themselves, but the geography, history and description of the major regions is still spot on.

Early life in the Pacific Northwest was no picnic. Yet Caroline C. Leighton’s journey was rougher then most, her journey to live in Port Angeles was preceded by a ship wreck somewhere near Jamaica. Luckily her stay on a remote reef was short as the ship crew and passengers were rescued by a couple of U. S. Navy Gunboats. The rest of the story (in diary form) is equally interesting.

Life at Puget Sound: With Sketches of Travel in Washington Territory, British Columbia, Oregon and California takes us on a journey throughout the Pacific Northwest with stops at places like Fort Coville, Victoria, Seattle, along the Columbia River, then trips to Coos Bay and Coquille Oregon.

But the real joys of this book are her descriptions of the people who settle this land and the surrounding areas. The passage about the fairy land of Myrtle Wood groves in the Southern Oregon Coast brought a smile, and many other passages are as interesting to read. Her descriptions of the natives are especially poignant, and the conversations with other white settlers are full of tidbits of interesting information.