H68.176.4

• spanish

Engraving. Description: Old map: "Map of the Territory of the Rocky Mountains" (West of), engraved by S. Stiles. Marked "Lea & Blandrums California" in corner in pencil. Thin paper. From the History Information Station: Object: Map. "Map of the Territory West of the Rocky Mountains." Published by S. Stiles, England, circa 1845. History: The mountain men who roamed the West in search of beaver pelts travelled thousands of miles through dangerous wilderness. That they did so before the publication of reliable maps is truly remarkable. This English map gives only the sketchiest idea of the vast territories that lay beyond the Rockies. Huge areas are named for Indian tribes, while other regions are simply marked "Sandy Plains", or "Perpetual Snows." Such maps proved of little use to overland settlers, and many a mountain man used his personal store of geographic knowledge to become guides for settlers once the pelts ran out.