Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West: Eighteen Biographical Sketches

Book Overview

The legendary mountain men--the fur traders and trappers who penetrated the Rocky Mountains and explored the Far West in the first half on the nineteenth century--formed the vanguard of the American empire and became the heroes of American adventure. This volume brings to the general reader brief biographies of eighteen representative mountain men, selected from among the essay assembled by LeRoy R. Hafen in The Mountain Men and the Fur Trade of the Far West (ten volumes, 1965-72).

The subjects and authors are: Manuel Lisa (Richard E. Oglesby); Pierre Chouteau Jr. (Janet Lecompte); Wilson Price Hunt (William Brandon); William H. Ashley (Harvey L. Carter); Jedediah Smith (Harvey L. Carter); John McLoughlin (Kenneth L. Holmes); Peter Skene Ogden (Ted J. Warner); Ceran St. Vrain (Harold H. Dunham); Kit Carson (Harvey L. Carter); Old Bill Williams (Frederic E. Voelker); William Sublette (John E. Sunder);Thomas Fitzpatrick (LeRoy R. and Ann W. Hafen); James Bridger (Cornelius M. Ismert); Benjamin L. E. Bonneville (Edgeley W. Todd); Joseph R. Walker (Ardis M. Walker); Nathaniel Wyeth (William R. Sampson); Andrew Drips (Harvey L. Carter); and Joseph L. Meek (Harvey E. Tobie).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803272103
• ISBN13: 9780803272101
• Release Date: June 1982
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 401 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.3" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

Groundbreaking Fur Trade HIstory Book!

The two not so great reviews of this book clearly would rather read fiction and 1960's Pseudo-western History rather than Know the truth!! And truthfully how many "we caught beaver and fought indians" stories can you possibly tolerate and want? Don't you know that these Biographies contain EXTREMELY interesting information that was and is unwritten of even today? Each one of these Bio's has been the subject of dozens of individual books and expanded the History of the American Fur Trade farther than any would ever know. Don't you know that reading about Pierre Chouteau Jr.'s Life is nearly the equivalent of reading about George Washington's life? Yes, Pierre had that strong of an influence on creating our modern nation than the first President! Hafen was one of the very first and most tenacious writers to hold forth this fact and kindly share it with us!! Did Pierre Chouteau, Jr. ever shoot any Bison, Innocent Beavers, or innocent Native Americans from his white horse? NO. But he only was the chief supervisor and paymaster of every Fur trapper, freighter and Military Escort that did! If you want to read REAL History buy this book, and if you can afford the original set, Buy that too!! If you want Fur Trade fiction, stick to the celluloid of the 1960's!

Quick Sketches...Good Book

I think this would be a good book for starters on Mountain Men...I like the way the biographies are "sketches"...Makes for quick reading...The footnotes have a lot of info if you want to explore further.....If you want more detailed info you could read A Life Wild and Perilous by Utley....This book had a lot of primary sources which is always nice...I also like the way it is sorta ordered chronologically