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Reviews of Recently Discovered Books
Below are given reviews of some books which I’ve had a recent opportunity to read.  Books for which a review is provided should be of interest to the student/historian, reenactor, or living historian.
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The Taos Trappers: The Fur Trade in the Far Southwest, 1540-1846 by David Weber, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1980. I n this comprehensive history, David J. Weber draws on Spanish, Mexican, and American sources to describe the development of the Taos trade and the early penetration of the area by French and American trappers. Within this borderlands region, colorful characters such as Ewing Young, Kit Carson, Peg-leg Smith, and the Robidoux brothers pioneered new trails to the Colorado Basin, the Gila River, and the Pacific and contributed to the wealth that flowed east along the Santa Fe Trail.
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The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S.A. in the Rocky Mountains and the Far West, by Washington Irving 1843, and edited by Edgeley W. Todd, 1961, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.  Bonneville was a Captain in the Army, who took a leave of absence to pursue fame and fortune in the fur trade.  Being as Bonneville was not a long time professional in the trade, he viewed the trade through “new” eyes, and recorded his observations through this fresh perspective.  I consider the book to be a primary source, even though it was written by Irving after the fact.  Irving had access to Bonnevilles draft manuscript, and was able to question Bonneville directly for completing the work.  In addition, Irving also interviewed and had access to journals and letters of others pursuing the fur trade at the same time.  With one exception, the book is historically accurate.  The mission of Joseph Walker’s expedition to Mexican California is greatly  mischaracterized, making Walker appear to be irresponsible and contributing to Bonnevilles failure to be competitive in the mountains.  Since the Bonneville’s draft manuscript no longer exists, we cannot know if Bonneville is responsible for this himself (Bonneville was at the time seeking to be reinstated in the Army after over-extending his leave of absence without approval) or whether Irving was making excuses for his friend.  In spite of this problem, the book is well worth reading and should be part of the library of any serious student of the fur trade.  
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The Lost Trappers, by David H Coyner, edited by David J Weber published 1995 ISBN 0-8061-2725-2.  First published in 1847, this book ostensibly records the travels of Ezekiel Williams starting in 1807.  In the 1995 printing, editor David J Weber points out that much of what Coyner has written is either plagerized, paraphrased, or simply invented.  I cannot recommend this book to any reader, unless they are fully familiar with other period writings.   
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I recently received a copy of Volume One of Fur Trade Encyclopedia: Firearms of the Fur Trade by James A Hanson with Dick Harmon, published by the Museum of the Fur Trade, 2011, ISBN 978-0-912611-18-1.  This volume is the first of seven volumes to be published documenting the trade goods of the fur trade.  At nearly 600 oversized pages and over 1,000 mostly color illustrations, this work is certainly destined to become one of the definitive studies of the history and evolution of the trade gun in North America.  The book covers guns from the earliest 1600’s through to the late models for the Hudson’s Bay Company in the early 1900’s, including Dutch, French, English, English government, U.S. and U.S. government models.  
Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of the volume is that the authors assume that the reader has a certain level of knowledge of early firearms and their parts prior to taking up this book.  For example, the terms wheel-lock, transverse sear, or bridle, are used in the discussion, but there are no diagrams or photos to illustrate what is being described by these terms.   
This volume is priced at $120 for members of the Museum, a cost which may seem steep; until you consider that an advanced college level text book in the sciences typically goes for $250 or more.  In addition, only 1,000 copies of each volume are to be published, insuring that these will become much sought after references in the future.  Future volumes of the Fur Trade Encyclopedia will include:

Volume 2:  Gun Accessories & Hand Weapons of the Fur Trade

 Volume 3:  Tools & Utensils of the Fur Trade

Volume 4:  Clothing & Textiles of the Fur Trade

Volume 5:  Provisions of the Fur Trade

Volume 6:  Ornaments & Art Supplies of the Fur Trade

Volume 7:  Addenda & Cumulative Index.  
The volumes are not being published in order.  The next volume scheduled to be published is Volume 4: Clothing & Textiles of the Fur Trade, and is promised to be released sometime in 2012.
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Frontier Diplomats: Alexander Culbertson and Natoyist-Siksina Among the Blackfeet by Lesley Wischmann.  Published 2004 by University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.  ISBN 0-8061-3607-3.  Well researched, well documented history of Alexander Culbertson and his second blackfoot wife Natoyist-Siksina, as well as the fur trade on the upper Missouri River, the Blackfoot Indians, and other names associated with Culbertson.  Well worth reading if your interests are in the American Fur Company, especially its activities along the Upper Missouri River.  
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The Voyageur by Grace Lee Nute  First published 1931 by D. Appleton and Company.  This is a definitive work regarding the French-Canadian voyageurs and there half-blood descendents.  In describing the character, customs, exploits and lives of these men the author frequently references and quotes the original source material.  One long chapter is given to the songs (in French with English translations) and musical scores for the melodies.  Even if your interests do not include the north country, the voyaguers played a major role in the fur trade in the far west.  This work is well worth the read.  
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Textiles in America: 1650-1870 by Montgomery, Florence M. Published 1984 by WW Norton & Company, New York.  This study contains more information about historical textiles than most of us would care to know.  Many fabrics and weaves produced historically are no longer available today, and this book provides the background to understand terms referred to on many of the old fur trade inventories.  Of interest to the reenactor or living historian, the center of the book contains a large section devoted to color photographs of fabric swatches showing both patterns and colors available at different time periods.  The book is out of print, but is available from many libraries and can be obtained for as little as $35 from online used book retailers.  (MPS July 2010)
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Four years in the Rockies, or, The adventures of Isaac P. Rose of Shenango Township, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania by James B Marsh, 1884.  James B Marsh was a writer/author of the late 1800’s who supposedly based this book on interviews with the then elderly Isaac P Rose.  Rose is unquestionable a trapper whose experience started with Wyeth’s second expeditions to the mountains in 1834.  Initially I was quite excited to obtain this account of a little known mountain man, but as I read the narrative, much of what I read had a familiar feeling to it.  It turns out that many of the stories in this book are plagiarized word for word from Francis Victor, River of the West, except to add Rose’ name into the text as either a participant or hero.   Because so much of the book can easily be demonstrated as plagiarized material, even those sections which are unfamiliar or new to me are suspect.  Why Marsh, who was an established writer of the time, felt compelled to do this can only be speculated on: certainly Rose would have had numerous adventures and stories of his own after spending four years in the mountains.  Time spent reading this is wasted-read River of the West instead.   (MPS July 2010)
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A Majority of Scoundrels: The Western Frontier 1822-1834 by Don Berry. Many reprintings.   This book is an excellent summary of the turbulent years in the fur trade from 1827-1834.  The author not only provides a description of the people and events of this period, but based on letters, contracts, and inventories, speculate on what may have been transpiring between the lines.  Many of these speculations put into solid form what for me were previously vague impressions and inklings based on my own research into primary documentation.  The major shortcoming of the book is that it is only generally documented at best, making it difficult to verify the author’s conjectures or to conduct follow-up research.  The book is still worth reading.  Currently  out of print, the book is available from many libraries, and can be easily obtained from online used book retailers.   (MPS August 2010)
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