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

by Leroy R. Hafen (Editor), Harvey L. Carter (Introduction)

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 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).

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns, Biography

401 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1982

Reviews

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good read. I'm what is often called a "history buff". That is especially true of American frontier history. I've read several good books on various aspects of the western expansion. While this one is an interesting read and I think most who are interested in "Mountain Men" and the period of time this entails will enjoy it somewhat it has a couple of "slight" negatives.

First, the book is basically a series of short biographies. The emphasis here is on "short". If you know much about the characters in question then the bios are pointless. If you don't they maybe enough to whet your appetite for more. Either way they're not really that satisfying.

Second, The book is mostly a history of the fur trade. (The title does mention "Mountain Men and Fur Traders). The rest of the aspects of the life of the Mountain Men are told "mostly" (though not exclusively) in the light of how they relate to the fur trade.

So, a pretty good book with some interesting facts about the Mountain Men selected for these profiles. Fairly worth reading in that light. Obviously not the best book I've read on these men and the time in question but an interesting intro with emphasis on the fur trade.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish they'd gone deeper into the stories of the Indian encounters, and hardships endured in the mountains. It seems like all the contributors were told to just stick to tracing when and where each of the subjects travelled to. But very little focus on what happened at those places.

[Greg Strandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are very enjoyable vignettes about various fur trappers and mountain men.

The book focuses on the 1810s to the 1860s for the most part, though Old Bill Williams goes quite a bit past that, as does Bridger.

You get some obscure folks here, like William Sublette, Pierre Chouteau Jr., Tom Fitzpatrick, and Joe Meek. That latter was the first sheriff in Oregon and the first U.S. Marshall.

You get a lot of tidbits like that and that's why this book has been popular for decades. I didn't read all the stories in here, but the ones I did read were good.

I've read a whole book on Manuel Lisa, but this short bio of him is really good (helps that it was by the book's author).

Yeah, all of these are essays written by various historians. It's really a good read and I'm sure you'll like it.

[Andrea Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also love this part of us history...