WHO WAS DUNCAN HENNESSEY? A big and burly mountain man, a half-breed some said, he seemed not unlike the bears he'd saved Betsy Hunter from—wild, powerful, a force of nature. But as she tended the wounds this loner had suffered because of her, Betsy could see that he was gentle, too, with an artist's soul. And though he'd professed to like the lonely existence he'd carved for himself in the wilds of Montana, Betsy knew otherwise. There was no doubt that in Duncan Hennessey, she'd found her true mate for life. But could she pierce the dark cloud of his past— and show him a brighter future in her arms?
Long the dominant icon embodying the spirit of America's frontier past, the image of the cowboy no longer stands alone as the ultimate symbol of independence and self-reliance. The great canvas of the western landscape-in art, books, film-is today shared by the figures called "Mountain Men." They were the trappers of the Rocky Mountain fur trade in the years following Lewis and Clark's Expedition of 1804-1806. With their bold journeys peaking, during the period of 1830-1840, they were the first white men to enter the vast wilderness reaches of the Rockies in search of beaver "plews," as the skins were called. They feasted on the abundant buffalo, elk and other game, while living the ultimate free-spirited wilderness life. Often they paid the ultimate price for their ventures under the arrows, tomahawks, and knives of those native Americans whose lands they had entered. Tales of the Mountain Men, presents in one book many of the most engaging and revealing portraits of mountain men ever written. Ranging from nonfiction classics like Bernard DeVoto's Across the Wide Missouri through fiction from such acclaimed novels as A. B. Guthrie Jr.'s The Big Sky, this collection is destined to be well appreciated by the huge and dedicated audience fascinated by mountain man lore and legend. These readers include many who today participate in reenactments of the mountain man "Rendezvous," with colorful costumes and competitions of traditional skills with authentic guns, knives, and tools. No book exists today with such a diverse and engaging collection of mountain man literature. For an already-large and still-growing audience, Tales of the Mountain Men will be a valued extension of their interest in the mountain man as a compelling and uniquely American figure.
This book is a celebration of life. Its astonishing view is from the perspective of someone living a simple, isolated life in the Rocky Mountains as a "mountain man." Sylvan Ambrose Hart was born in the Oklahoma Territory in 1906. In the 1930's, while still a young man, he walked into the Rocky Mountains and designed a unique life for himself in the wilds - hunting, fishing, trapping, panning gold, crafting his own tools, weapons, shelter, and clothes. For almost fifty years he lived the life of a reclusive mountain man --eventually gaining national fame as "Buckskin Bill, Last of the Mountain Men." In 1973 another young man, studying philosophy in a private college back east, found that he could no longer abide being shackled by the conventional wisdoms of our culture. To the dismay of all who knew and loved him, he dropped out of college and headed for the mountains. He caught a train cross-country to Montana, then hopped a bus southbound skirting the Rocky Mountains. At one point he simply stepped off the bus and walked into the mountains with only a backpack, machete, and knife (no food or gun) determined to learn what the mountains offered to teach --or die trying. After a few months of eating rattlesnakes, ants and field mice, this struggling newcomer to the mountains (the author) discovered the now old and grizzled "mountain man" living not only successfully but quite flamboyantly in the depths of the Rocky Mountain wilderness on the "River of No Return." Buckskin was an extraordinary man. Anyone who ever met him walked away with stories and memories to be cherished for a lifetime. Here are my favorite memories of the Last of the Mountain Men.
It didn't matter that the warrant was years old, or that Smoke Jensen has been cleared of all charges. A Texas bounty hunter named Bill Pike believed he could still collect at USD 10,000 reward for killing Jensen - and he intended to do just that. But when Pike and his men came calling, Jensen was nowhere to be found. So they took the next best thing - Smoke's woman - left behind a ransom note, and headed up into the Rocky Mountains.
To know how the West was really won, start with the exploits of these unsung mountain men who, like the legendary Jeremiah Johnson, were real buckskin survivalists. Preceded only by Lewis and Clark, beaver fur trappers roamed the river valleys and mountain ranges of the West, living on fish and game, fighting or trading with the Native Americans, and forever heading toward the untamed wilderness. In this story of rough, heroic men and their worlds, Laycock weaves historical facts and practical instruction with profiles of individual trappers, including harrowing escapes, feats of supreme courage and endurance, and sometimes violent encounters with grizzly bears and Native Americans.
Incredible stories from those who thrived in the Wild West. The “mountain men” were the hunters and trappers who fiercely strode the Rocky Mountains in the early to mid-1800s. They braved the elements in search of the skins of beavers and other wild animals, to sell or barter for goods. The lifestyle of the mountain men could be harsh, existing as they did among animals, and spending most of their days and nights living and camping out in the great unexplored wilds of the Rockies. Life outdoors presented many threats, not least among them Native Americans, who were hostile to the mountain men encroaching on the area for their own purposes. For a certain kind of pioneer, this risk and more were outweighed by the benefits of living free, without the restrictions and boundaries of “civilized” settlements. Included in this collection are tales from great writers, including: Washington Irving Stanley Vestal Osborne Russell Francis Parkman Jr. And many more! In The Adventures of the Mountain Men, New York Times bestselling author Stephen Brennan has compiled many of the best stories about the mountain men—the most daring exploits, the death-defying chances taken to hunt big game, the clashes with the arrows of Native Americans, and also the moments when the men were struck by the incomparable beauty of the unsullied, majestic Rocky Mountains.
