In the Heart of the Bitterroot Mountains: The Story of the Carlin Hunting Party, September-December 1893

by A.L.A. Himmelwright

Late September 1893, three adventurous easterners, a guide, and their camp cook followed Idaho's Lolo Trail into the Bitterroot Mountains in pursuit of big game. Leaving the high country, the men made camp on the banks of the Lochsa River and began hunting in heavy rain. Two months later, exhausted and nearing starvation, most, but not all, of the party emerged from the rugged river canyon and were rescued by a military search party near what is now Lowell, Idaho. This book is the true story of the travails of the Carlin Hunting Party of 1893 and includes extensive excerpts from Will Carlin's diary, historical newspaper accounts of the day, and appendices providing additional background information. The book tells an extraordinary wilderness adventure-turned-tragedy which has become one of the most controversial and frequently retold true tales of desperation to ever resound from within the heart of the Bitterroot Mountains.

142 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

Abraham Lincoln Artman Himmelwright (February 7, 1865 – March 24, 1936), a civil engineer, author, adventurer, and marksman was the general manager of The Roebling Construction Company, the New York City firm created by John A. Roebling's Sons Company of Trenton, New Jersey. Himmelwright's first and second names were given to him by his parents to honor the slain president, Abraham Lincoln, assassinated the year Himmelwright was born. In most of the works he authored he went by the name "ALA Himmelwright".

He was born on February 7, 1865 in Milford, Pennsylvania. In 1894 he was with the Carlin hunting party which left its cook, George Colgate behind to die.[2] He purchased land in Stockholm, New Jersey and in 1907 completed a fireproof house made of stone. He died in 1936

Reviews

[Ebook Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ebook wasn't available on Amazon, but found it on Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-t...

[S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this e-book on Barnes & Noble instead:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-t...
(The Amazon link went to a blank page with a dog picture.)

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting recount of the Carlin hunting trip in the Bitterroot Mtns along Hwy 12, which runs between Lewiston and Missoula. It was nice knowing the area and having a general idea of the environment the men were traveling in. The book includes an outline of events with associated milepost markers along the highway. The controversy over whether to leave a man behind to die in order to save the lives of the rest of the party didn't really strike me until the end of the book, after the party was rescued, and then there was the public backlash on the decision they'd made. I'd felt they'd made pretty sound decisions once they decided to leave, though if they'd recognized the serious potential of the situation and had left as soon as they'd discovered the issue, maybe the man could have been saved. Overall, the book raises interesting discussion points on the complexities of nature as well as the complexities of people and the interaction of the two.

[Steven Shook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read and firsthand account of the Carlin hunting party that faced early season snows in September 1893 in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho. Though the telling of this true adventure of five men is sensationalized at times, which is characteristic of the true story genre in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the reader certainly feels as if they are with the hunting party and experiencing their misery and decision making processes.

The story is similar in style to the many stories written about the Donner Party in California - a similar situation that involved human suffering and misery.

Author Ladd Hamilton published a book titled "Snowbound" in 1997 that is essentially, in my opinion, a rather dry rehash of Himmelwright's book.

A fun, fast read.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and enjoyable read. It's less about hunting and more about the party getting snowed in in the Bitteroot mountain range. Escaping back to civilization is made more complicated by a member of the party who had a self-inflicted medical emergency.

[Shadowzzz3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. Different from what I normally read but still interesting.

[Ebook Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, the e-book version can be found on Kobo, at:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/in-t...