John Colter: The Legend of the First Mountain Man

by Don Amiet

Back in 1803, I was one of those crazy fools who joined Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their journey across the continent. Back then, every person who knew about our expedition said we were out of our minds. If the natives didnÂ’t kill us, the Spanish would, they said. There was no chance of our being successful. Well, we proved them wrong, didnÂ’t we? We went up that massive Missouri, crossed the mountains, reached the ocean, and then did it all again in reverse. We werenÂ’t killed by the natives and we werenÂ’t killed or enslaved by the Spanish. But when President JeffersonÂ’s famed Corps of Discovery floated back down the Missouri to St. Louis in September of 1806, I wasnÂ’t with them. Nope, I stayed up there in that wild country to make my fortune. What I ended up making was a legend.

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Nicole Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adventurous story! My son is named after John Colter so the book sparked my interest! I enjoyed it. I read it to my kids but did have to leave some parts out! We were all waiting in anticipation for Colter to describe Yellowstone the first time he found it, but the book only briefly mentions it & so that was a bit disappointing & that is why I am giving the book less stars.

[Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is definitely for Lewis and Clark fans. I am one, and this is an interesting take on the adventure and wrap to John Colter's frontier career. As a casual read, most will not find this too rewarding, but is a valuable addition to those who have read the "factual" notes in the Lewis and Clark journals and humanizes the men of the Corps of Discovery.

[Mikel Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic historical novel.

This historically correct book about the Lewis & Clark Expedition is written in the first person of John Colter who was an actual participant and is a very interesting and captivating read.