"An unvarnished picture of one of the West's most complex
characters"
Mountain man and fur trader Jedediah Smith casts a heroic
shadow. He was the first Anglo-American to travel overland to
California via the Southwest, and he roamed through more of the
West than anyone else of his era. His adventures quickly became the
stuff of legend. Using new information and sifting fact from
folklore, Barton H. Barbour now offers a fresh look at this dynamic
figure.
Barbour tells how a youthful Smith was influenced by notable men
who were his family's neighbors, including a member of the Lewis
and Clark expedition. When he was twenty-three, hard times leavened
with wanderlust set him on the road west. Barbour delves into
Smith's journals to a greater extent than previous scholars and
teases out compelling insights into the trader's itineraries and
personality. Use of an important letter Smith wrote late in life
deepens the author's perspective on the legendary trapper. Through
Smith's own voice, this larger-than-life hero is shown to be a man
concerned with business obligations and his comrades' welfare, and
even a person who yearned for his childhood. Barbour also takes a
hard look at Smith's views of American Indians, Mexicans in
California, and Hudson's Bay Company competitors and evaluates his
dealings with these groups in the fur trade.
Dozens of monuments commemorate Smith today. This readable book
is another, giving modern readers new insight into the character
and remarkable achievements of one of the West's most complex
characters.
General
Imprint: |
University of Oklahoma Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
The Oklahoma Western Biographies |
Release date: |
April 2011 |
First published: |
April 2011 |
Authors: |
Barton H. Barbour
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 140 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
288 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8061-4196-1 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-8061-4196-4 |
Barcode: |
9780806141961 |
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