I have recently been reading everything I can about the era of the Mountain Me and the fur trade in the American west. There are dozens of modern books that can fully inform one on this topic, but why not use original sources? Thanks to Amazon, E-books and and some dedicated volunteers who convert crusty old books to modern digital formats, you can now download a 180 year old book written by a someone who lived the story of a Mountain Man. A few of the tales have a bit of a “Dime Novel” flair to them, but most are honest and accurate. Modern readers may be offended by the biases and occasional ignorance of the authors, but their stories are compelling. Here is my list of Mountain Man/Fur trade books whose copyrights have long since expired. Most can be bought and downloaded from amazon for about .99 cents. I have given them 1-5 star (*)ratings.
Whitman Mission National ark Service Historical Handbook. Erwin N. Thompson (1964) Free n-line book NPS Historical Handbook: Whitman Mission (Contents)
Though Marcus and Narcissa Whitman were not mountain men or trappers, they came west during the latter years of the fur trade. Whitman met with the trappers at the rendezvous of 1835 where he preached and extracted a bullet from Jim Bridger. Marcus Whitman helped lead the first wagons to Oregon in 1843 . At the time of their deaths, the Whitmans were raising the daughters of Mountain men Jim Bridger and Joe Meeks. Their support of the immigrants might have led to their deaths in 1847, but they also contributed significantly to the acquisition and development of the Oregon Territory. Five stars
Jim Bridger: Opening the West Vol I (2020) 4-stars
This is Volume I of a two volume work. Being illiterate and out of touch with civilization for large portions of his life, James Bridger left it up to others he encountered on the trail to document his amazing life. Author Ronald Rockwell has done a good job of collecting the impressions of others and weaving them into the history of the era to capture about as good of a look at Bridger’s life as is possible. He quotes significant passages from other works by Bridger’s contemporaries to frame Bridger’s experiences and the event that surrounded him. The book is well-written and contains numerous personal observations of the author which the reader may, or may not, agree with. I commend him for his diligent research. My only disappointment is that Bridger’s life after the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty gathering is covered in Volume II which I am too cheap to buy at this point. (Kindle $3.99)
Kit Carson’s Autobiography (Dictated 1856) (Published 1935)
This is Kit Carson’s own life story as related to Jesse B. Turly about 1856. The manuscript is the basis for most of what we know about Carson. It was finally edited and published by M.M. Quaife in 1935. It briefly covers Carson’s early adventures in the fur trade and in guiding expeditions like those of Fremont and numerous frontier military campaigns. His role in the California campaign of the Mexican war is included. His subsequent actions in the Navaho country during the Civil War are not covered as they occurred after the book was dictated. Carson comes across as a humble man who contributed greatly to the exploration and knowledge of the American West having crisscrossed nearly all of it to include all of its major land and river routes. Though Carson could not read or write, the compilers of this work did an excellent job of producing a smooth-flowing, competent narrative. The only problem with the book is its brevity and lack of detail in some of American history’s greatest events and adventures. (Some of this is documented in other works, like Fremont’s reports.) All in all, a great resource for the committed historian and the casual reader. 5 stars
Christopher Carson Familiarly Known as Kit Carson (abt 1870) John C. Abbott
This is an interesting early biography of the famed frontiersman, Kit Carson. The author draws form several other contemporary accounts to make a coherent narrative that is far more accurate than some of the Dime Novels of Carson’s day. It is short on specific dates, locations and details as well as scholarly citations of sources. Abbott’s main contribution to the Carson story is to add his personal insights. As a man of the cloth he imbues Carson with Christian virtues. Carson’s decency is indeed a virtue, but whether it came from any sort of piety is questionable. Abbott adds descriptions of people, events and terrain that he probably had no first-hand knowledge of. These details take nothing away from the heroic exploits of the trapper, frontiersman and military man that Carson was. The book provides almost no coverage of Carson’s military exploits during the Civil War and his expulsion of the Navaho from their homes. It does have a very interesting letter from the Physician at Fort Lyons who attended Carson in his last days. 4 Stars
The Adventures of Captain Bo0nneville. (1837) Washington Irving.
This is Irving’s re-write of Captain Benjamin Bonneville’s report on his 1832-35 exploration and trapping expedition to the Rocky Mountains. Bonneville requested leave from the Army in order to mount an expedition to the West. Though his leave was granted, he was asked to explore and map the areas he visited. He was also to report on relations with the various tribes of Native Americans he encountered. Since Bonneville’s main purpose was to profit from the fur trade, he was given no financial support from the U.S. government. He would wind up overstaying his leave and earning little profit. He did add considerably to the knowledge of the lands and people he visited on both sides of the Rockies. Irving’s narrative incorporates several interesting incidents, battles, epic journeys and personal interest vignettes. Irving’s first-hand knowledge of the West was limited to a single surveying trip he had taken to the Oklahoma Indian Territory, but he manages to give compelling accounts from other sources. The book’s success, no doubt, inspired many an early pioneer to head West. Prophetically he lamented the British influence in the Oregon territory while extolling its virtues. 5 Stars
The Splendid Wayfaring: The story of the Exploits and Adventures of Jedediah Smith and His Comrades (1920). John G. Neihardt Excellent account of Smith’s journeys through the Rockies and his pathbreaking overland trips to California and Oregon. Smith engaged with the Ashley-Henry firm in 1822 and soon became part of its successor firm Smith, Jackson and Sublette. Smith and Hugh Glass (The Revenant) were both mauled by grizzly bears in 1823 while part of the Ashley expedition.
Life in the Rocky Mountains: A Diary of Wanderings on the sources of the Rivers Missouri, Columbia and Colorado from February 1830 to November 1835 (1940) Warren A. Ferris. First hand account of Ferris’ experiences with the American Fur Company. Ferris had a keen eye for geography and descriptions of what he saw that would sound familiar to modern travelers. Includes an almost daily account of his travels as well as his own adventures and those of others whose stories were told around campfires. Oddly, there is virtually nothing about the actual craft of trapping beaver. (Ferris was often engaged in trade and camp maintenance.) By the time it was published, his diary had possibly been embellished by the knowledge of a later era. His first-hand accounts are highly credible except for the last part of this edition which includes some newspaper articles he wrote years later. 5 Stars
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (1837) Washington Irving. Though Irving never made it to the fur country, he had access to Bonneville and the journals of his expedition and his poorly written book. 5 stars
Astoria: True Tale of the Dangerous and Daring Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. (1836)Washington Irving. Irving was commissioned by John Jacob Astor to write the history of his failed effort to establish a fur trading empire on the West Coast. Working mostly from journals and business letters 20 years after the fact, Irving produced a compelling book. It is this book that contains the most compelling version of John Colter’s famous run from the Blackfeet. Irving also writes of the explosive end of Astor’s ship, the Tonquin, as a hostile tribe made its final assault after killing most of the crew. 5 Stars
The War with Mexico (1920) Justin Harvey Smith. A tedious, but comprehensive, look at the Mexican War (1846-48) which added much of the fur country to the United States. 4 stars
Fifty years on the Trail (1889) John Young Nelson 4 Stars
Thirty One Years on the Plains, and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains An Authentic record of a Life Time of hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far West. (1903) William F. Drannon. Authentic account but may have exaggerated a bit. (No rating-unread)
Manuel Lisa, Fur trader on the Upper Missouri (1901) Hiram M. Chittenden Manuel Lisa was one of the first entrepreneurs to ply the fur trade from St. louis. (Note most of this info is contained in the author’s other book, The American fur Trade) 4 Stars
The American Fur trade of the Far West. (1902) Hiram M. Chittenden. This is a comprehensive overview of the entire history of the fur trade. 5 stars
The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie, of Kentucky, During an Expedition from St. Louis, through the Vast Regions Between that Place & the Pacific Ocean & Thence Back Through the City of Mexico. James Ohio Pattie. I would never recommend this book, but for the fact that Pattie was the first American to ever enter Arizona. He began a disastrous trip in 1824 that took him through Santa Fe, the Santa Rita del Cobre mining district of SW New Mexico, the Gila River country of Arizona and the Mexican settlements of California. Pattie worked with a ghost writer, who greatly embellished his exploits. Still there are some good descriptions of the people and areas through which Pattie passed. 3 Stars
The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California To Which Is Added a Description of the Physical Geography of California, with Recent ….from the Latest and Most Authentic Sources. John Charles Fremont. Fremont was a great explorer who didn’t give enough credit to his frequent guide Kit Carson. His journals were artfully edited by his teen-age bride, Jessie Benton. Like Lewis and Clark before him, he blazed, recorded and marked the trails we still use in the West. You have to be a dedicated scholar to appreciate this exhausting report of his travels. *** stars, but a must read for historians.
History of the expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. I. To the Sources of the Missouri, Thence Across the Rocky Mountains and… Ocean Performed Suring the Years 1804-5-6. Merriweather Lewis and William Clark as edited by Paul Allen. Lewis was not able to edit and publish the expedition’s journals before his untimely death at his own hand. This is one of the first readable printed versions of the journal covering their outward journey. 4 Stars
The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout and pioneer and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians. (1856) Beckwourth was an early trapper of mixed race who spent many years with the Crow tribe of Montana. Though his story may have been embellished, there are enough independent accounts of his actions to verify his courage and the reverence the Crows held of him. 4 Stars
Journal of a Trapper Or Nine Years Residence among the Rocky Mountains Between the Years of 1834 and 1843 (1921) Osborne Russel. Short, but authentic. 4 Stars
Adventure of Zenas Leonard, Fur Trader and Trapper, 1831-1836. Zenas Leonard. Another authentic trapper’s journal. 4 Stars
Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri (1898) Charles Larpenteur. Though not a trapper, Larpenteur spent more time in the Upper Missouri country than most of his contemporaries. Much of this time was spent at Fort Union where the Yellowstone empties into the Missouri. I was greatly annoyed by his papering over his botched attempt to vaccinate the native women of the post during the 1937 Small Pox epidemic. Otherwise a good read. 4 Stars
My Sixty years on the Plains. Trapping, Trading, and Indian Fighting W.T. Hamilton. Another first person narrative. 4 Stars
Four Years in the Rockies–the Adventures of Isaac P. Rose–Hunter and Trapper in that Remote Region. James B. Marsh. (1884) ****
Mountain Man Ezekiel Williams and His Adventures in Colorado in 1809. (1913) Ezekiel Williams. This is an absolutely fascinating, but short, account of a member of Manuel Lisa’s Missouri Fur Company. It is a story of great courage and mystery. Williams and perhaps twenty other companions were detached from Lisa’s trading post where the Big Horn joins the Yellowstone. They headed south to trap the upper reaches of the Arkansas. Though the trapping was successful, the party separated, most to never be heard from again. Williams was the only one to ever make it back to Missouri. Shortly after his return, a strange grave was found and opened just short of the Missouri settlements. Speculation was that this was William’s lost partner. Had Williams killed Jean Baptiste Champlain to profit from his valuable furs? A newspaper accused him of just that. In response to this accusation, Williams wrote a letter to the paper defending himself and recounting his adventures. Though dates are somewhat confusing, the Missouri Historical Society was able to confirm much of what Williams wrote. No one has been able to solve the mystery of who was in the strange grave, however. 4 Stars
Mountain Men of the Rockies. (1883) Frank Triplett
This is an interesting, but flawed, book about several of the mountain men associated with the fur trade. I am unable to find much information of the author, Frank Triplett. From the narrative in the book, he appears to have known some of the mountain men in their later years. (The book was published in 1883.) He offers several personal insights regarding his acquaintance with some of trappers and with others who knew them. (Triplett has also written other books about the West, Jesse James and even Grover Cleveland.)
Some of the stories in the book are simply recanting’s of tales told by earlier authors. This book is almost totally devoid of dates or any references save the tales told to the author by others. Some of the facts presented don’t fully match up with other credible sources. One does get a sense of the character of some of mountain men that Triplett appears to have had some direct or indirect connection to.
I would read Triplett for the enjoyment of the stories, but in no way would I ever cite this book in an historical paper.
There are two things I really liked about the book. First he covers some frontier characters who have gotten little mention in the other accounts of the fur trade. Secondly, he follows up on many of these pioneers to tell how they spent their later lives, or what fate finally befell them.
Triplett’s writing has an annoying tendency to wander down off-topic side stories and time can shift back and forth abruptly. Like a lot of his contemporaries, Triplett had a very low regard for Native Americans which might turn modern readers off. 3 Stars
John Coulter, the First Mountain Man. (Date unknown, but an event from 1926 is mentioned.) Robert Dwyer. This is brief, but excellent account of what little is known of John Coulter. Coulter was a member of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery. He stayed in the Upper Missouri Country after the expedition making him arguably the very first Mountain Man. Eventually becoming part of Manuel Lisa’s Missouri Fur Company, Coulter would be credited with the discovery of Coulter’s Hell (Yellowstone Park.) Coulter famously outran pursuing Blackfeet in a race for his life, before making his way back naked and unarmed to Lisa’s post on the Yellowstone. 5 Stars
The Mountain Men (1999) The History Channel. Video. Narrated by Pernell Roberts. A history of the fur trade in the American West. Covers such characters as Coulter, Walker, Smith, Johnson and Carson. https://youtu.be/8MYIItApGPA https://youtu.be/8MYIItApGPA 5 Stars
Outlaws, Outrages and Outright Lies 