The Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal, Volume 3, 2009
By various authors
134 pages, 8-1/2" X 11", softcover: $25.00
Reviewed by Bill Scurlock
The Sublette County Historical Society and the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale, Wyoming, are doing great work with this journal series. This year marks the third year of The Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal, and it is every bit as good as the last two. Each article is well written and lavishly illustrated with period (and a few modern) illustrations, and each one explores a different topic in a well-researched and thoroughly interesting way.
The articles this year include “Revisiting the Colter Legend” by John C. Jackson, in which he reexamines the early travels and exploits of John Colter. “The Taos Whiskey Trade” by Joe Kierst looks at the seldom-noted manufacture of this popular trade item. In “An American Fur Company Northwest Trade Gun,” Barry C. Bohnet details the history of trade guns and the discovery of a near-mint condition, original trade gun in a Scottish museum. “‘Formidable Men and Heroes:’ The Forgotten Delaware Mountaineers” by Doyle Reid looks at the only native Americans who were accepted as peers by the Rocky Mountain trappers. In “Alfred Jacob Miller: The Artist and the Greenhorn, Lost and Found in Wind River Country, 1837,” Chavawn Kelley discusses Miller, the artist, and the impact that his journey to the Wind River country had on him. Modern mountain men will appreciate Clay Landry’s research and information in “The Spanish Saddle: Choice of the Rocky Mountain Fur Men.” “A Fur Trader’s Tale of Saving the Bison” by Ken Zontek examines the saving of the seed herd that was destined to become the genetic ancestry for perhaps the majority of bison alive today.
Each article is peer-reviewed before acceptance and publication, helping to ensure the quality of the writing as well as the research. This is a “must-have” book for the historian or enthusiast of the Rocky Mountain fur trade. You can purchase your copy of The Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal, Volume 3, by calling the Museum of the Mountain Man at 877-686-6266 or by online purchase at [www.mmmuseum.com].
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