Montana Articles

10 Great Mountain Men Fur Trapping Books

6/22/2013

Lots of people come to this website looking for information about mountain men and fur trappers.

I wrote a book that details several of the leading mountain men of Montana, but that just might not be good enough for a lot of people.

That’s why I wanted to put together this list of what I consider to be great mountain men fur trapping books.

The books are presented in no particular order, so don’t think that the first one on the list is the best.

Links are provided to each of the books on Amazon so you can go ahead and check them out further for yourself.

I hope that anyone visiting this site will find the information presented below to be useful, and hopefully you’ll find something of interest that you can’t find on this website.

Oh, and if this is still not enough for you, check out 2015's 10 More Great Mountain Man Fur Trapping Books. Thanks!

Tales of the Mountain Men: Seventeen Stories of Survival, Exploration, and Frontier Spirit

People interested in reading about many different mountain men over a longer period of time might be interested in this book, edited by Lamar Underwood. It came out in 2004 and collects excerpts from books, original source material from the time, and even nonfiction samples.

The stories skip around a bit and some of the language might be hard to decipher since it often comes from the time you’re reading about.

A lot of time is also spent discussing what was happening during the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which is quite a bit before the time that most mountain men began wandering around the wildernesses of the Rockies and surrounding mountains.

For fans of mountain men and fur trappers, however, it might be just the thing you’re looking for.

John Colter: His Years in the Rockies

This book does a good job detailing John Colter’s 1807-8 winter in the Rockies.

I used it quite a bit when I was writing my John Colter chapter for my first book on the history of Montana.

I used it a lot more when writing my John Colter novels. Honestly, I've checked this book out at the library about 5 times and read it more than twice. Many times it's hard to get, as it's constantly checkout out.

I think anyone who’s interested in reading about Colter will find this book to be quite the good read.

It was during that winter in Montana that Colter stumbled upon Yellowstone, or what would be known for some time as ‘Colter’s Hell.’ The book was first printed in 1952 by Burton Harris, so it might feel a little dated to some. The 1977 edition has a new introduction as well.

Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West

Written by Dale L. Morgan in 1964, Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West is still a worthwhile volume today. Most of the research was conducted using original sources, many of which were unpublished at the time that Morgan was writing.

The book serves as a complete biography of Jedediah Smith, really taking off when Smith first took William H. Ashley up on his offer to join his men and journey to the upper reaches of the Missouri to take part in the fur trade. It follows Smith as he blazed trails throughout the Northwest and California until his untimely death at such a young age after a run-in with some Comanches.

Cowboys, Mountain Men, and Grizzly Bears: Fifty of the Grittiest Moments in the History of the Wild West

This book was written by Matthew P. Mayo in 2009 and does a good job highlighting some of the more colorful episodes that the mountain men took part in.

The book is big, with 50 chapters that go over 200 pages. A few take place in the 1800s and one is from the 1810s.

The book covers quite a bit of ground, going from John Colter and Hugh Glass in the 1820s all the way up to Custer’s Last Stand in 1877 and beyond.

The book’s chapters are a bit short, only 4 to 5 pages, but you get a sense of many different people in the span of the book’s length.

Mayo specializes in adventurous stories of real-life people, and he doesn’t disappoint in this volume. What is of interest to many are the multitude of stories from the 1840s, 1850s, and beyond. Usually we think of the fur trade as ending by then, but Mayo has lots of stories in the 1860s, 1870s, and even beyond.

Now, many of these stories get into the Indian Wars. For instance, Fetterman's Fight is detailed, as is Wounded Knee.

You get a lot of obscure stuff too, like Kit Carson's 300-mile walk through Navajo country in 1863 and even the fight at Tombstone in 1881.

Anyone interested in getting a good idea of what a century of life was like in the Old West will enjoy this book. Oh, and there are tons of grizzly bear attacks!

Rocky Mountain Rendezvous: A History of The Fur Trade 1825 - 1840

Written by Fred Gowans in 1977, this great volume on the history of the fur trade covers just 15 years. That means you’ll be getting a lot of details about what went on in that period, which can be great for die-hard fans of the fur trade, but it might be a bit much for those just casually interested.

Gowans uses primary sources to tell the story through the mountain men’s own words. He focuses a lot on the rendezvous that were happening beginning in 1825 at the Green River in Wyoming and continuing on until the fur trade began to die-off in 1840.

The book is fully-illustrated, meaning you’ll not just be reading about the places the mountain men frequented, but you’ll be seeing pictures and maps as well.

The Saga of Hugh Glass: Pirate, Pawnee, and Mountain Man

Hugh Glass was quite the amazing mountain man and fur trapper. He was mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead, but somehow he miraculously survived and walked for nearly 200 miles to get back to his companions. He spent several more years after that fur trapping before his untimely death at the hands of the Arikara Indians.

This book, written by John Myers Myers in 1976, tries to capture what life was like for Glass. Hugh Glass’s life is detailed, but it doesn’t do as good of a job as it could. Lots of information is presented about things happening in the world at that time, things that didn’t really have that much to do with Glass. Still, anyone interested in the time of the fur trappers, about 1820 to 1840, will find this book interesting. For a more detailed biography of Hugh Glass, however, you might have to look somewhere else.

Fur Traders, Trappers, and Mountain Men of the Upper Missouri

Leroy R. Hafen edited this book which is a collection of historical essays about the various mountain men and fur trappers working in and around Montana in the early to mid 19th century. Most of the stories revolve around the American Fur Company and you won’t get the usual tales.

First of all, most of the stories detail the lives of people in charge of the fur trade, not those actually out in the wilderness trapping. And second, many of the individuals profiled are quite obscure.

Who am I talking about? These are people like:

Gabriel Franchere;
Ramsay Crooks;
Kenneth McKenzie;
James Kipp;
Alexander Culbertson;
Malcolm Clark;
Auguste Pike Vasquez;
Charles Larpenteur.

Those are some of the men, and I have to tell you, I didn't know many of them until picking up this book. Crooks I knew because he was active around St. Louis in the 1790s, and Malcolm Clark was killed outside Helena in 1869.

Anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes action of the fur trade will like this book. I used it quite a bit when I was researching Tribes and Trappers and it helped a lot.

The book is part of Hafen’s 10-volume study of mountain men and the fur trade, although this particular volume is a bit shorter than the others in the series. I would highly suggest checking out The Fur Trapper website for a breakdown of some of the stats on mountain men from Hafen's works.

Die-hard fans of the time will like it, though, so if you have a craving for the obscure, this is the book for you.

Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West: Eighteen Biographical Sketches

This is the very first book in Leroy R. Hafen’s monumental 10-volume study of the mountain men and fur trappers of the 19th century.

If you want more stories on mountain men and explorers, this is the book to get.

Hafen serves as the editor, letting several knowledgeable historians take the reins. And boy do they do a great job. I used this book a lot when I was researching the era, and if you like mountain men, you’ll love this book.

Everyone you want to know about is in the book: Jedediah Smith, Kit Carson, Old Bill Williams, Thomas Fitzpatrick, James Bridger, and thirteen more amazing individuals. The book first came out in 1982 but it’s still one of the best out there today. It’s really the best of the series, considering that it was the first, so you’ll be getting lots of great information about these interesting, brave, and at times foolhardy individuals that shaped the American West.

Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America

This book by Eric J. Dolan is rather new, having come out in 2011. The book stretches all the way from 1609 to the late 1800s and profiles people in both Europe and America who made the fur trade possible. You’ll find lots of interesting characters, but many are just touched upon and not detailed in depth.

You’ll learn lots of names, dates, and other facts and that can make for some dry reading at times for some people. Lots of political history is highlighted, such as border disputes between Europe and America, the various wars that happened on the continent, and the impact that the settlers had on the Native Americans.

Highlights for me included the very detailed look at how the French got the fur trade going in North America in the 1600s. There's a fine look at Astor and the Pacific Trade. The maps on the dust jacket are wonderful. Also has a very good look at the Upper Missouri River trade, before and after Lewis and Clark.

It’s a real scholarly work, having nearly 1,000 footnotes, so for the history buffs out there this is a good work to check out.

A Majority of Scoundrels: An Informal History of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company

Don Berry put this book out in 2006 and it does a good job explaining how the Rocky Mountain Fur Company got its start. William Henry Ashley was of course the driving force behind the creation of the fur company and it all comes back to his newspaper ad in the early 1820s that called for hardworking and able-bodied men to join him on the upper-Missouri River.

You’ll be introduced to the majority of the well-known mountain men, most of whom got their start working for Ashley. The book covers about two decades until the fur trade began it precipitous decline in the late-1830s. It’s just another great book for anyone interested in this fascinating period of American history.

And Don't Forget My Own Montana History eBooks
Volumes 1-3: 1800 to 1900

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Father Pierre-Jean De Smet’s Last Years

6/15/2013

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Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, c 1860-5

Over the next three years Father Pierre De Smet’s congregation would grow, and their need for him would come to an end. By 1845 he was again being pulled east, this time not in an attempt to secure more supplies but as a possible emissary between the US government and Indian tribes.

Coming back once again from St. Louis in the spring of 1845 he brought with him the Italian Jesuit priest Father Anthony Ravalli

De Smet was free to go out on further explorations of the area, his main goal being to meet some of the other tribes and get them interested in Catholicism. He set out from St. Mary’s Mission in August of 1845 on what would prove to be one of his biggest successes and greatest hardships. The journey would convince him to leave the Rocky Mountains for good.

A Final Foray West

Lake Pend d’Oreille, Idaho

He and his entourage began in Idaho near Lake Pend d’Oreille before heading into the Kootenay River valley. He made it to the source of the Columbia River and had to cross much of the valley to reach Sinclair Pass which would allow him to pass back over the Kootenay River.

From there he reached the Bow River valley near Alberta, Canada. The group made it to Rocky Mountain House by October. He travelled out to meet more natives before heading up to Fort Edmonton as winter set in.

It was a successful journey in that De Smet met with Blackfeet, Chippewa, and Cree Indians. It was damaging to De Smet, however. By this time De Smet was 44 years old, a time when many men his age were not out trekking through the Rocky Mountains as winter set in; even the fur trade was over by 1840.

And the winter of 1845-46 really took its toll on the Jesuit leader of St. Mary’s. He somehow endured it and set out that spring, no doubt weakened and still in pain. The party traveled down the Columbia until they reached Fort Vancouver and from there he was able to get back to his mission.

Saying the Last Goodbye

Father Gregory Mengarini

De Smet didn’t come back empty-handed. The group brought back with them from Fort Vancouver the first cattle to reach the state, as well as the first swine and poultry. But for Father Pierre De Smet it was the end.

He packed his bags and left St. Mary’s and the Rocky Mountains for good, but not in bad faith. De Smet had been active in courting European interests and his work with both the Indians all up and down the Missouri River allowed him to become a mediator between them and the US government, a role he would continue in until his death in 1873.

Father Gregory Mengarini would become the Mission’s new leader, and it was a choice that would prove fateful. The Indians never had the liking for the dour Italian like they did for De Smet, especially when Mengarini began his attempts at converting the Blackfeet, the Flathead’s main enemy. Within five years the

A Final Journey

Statue of De Smet in Dendermonde, Belgium

Father Pierre-Jean De Smet traveled extensively in Europe over the next several years, but left the continent for good from Antwerp on April 7th, 1873. He headed back to his cherished home in St. Louis and dreamed of heading back upriver to his beloved Indians and Mission once again, but his body simply wouldn’t allow it.

His health declining rapidly, De Smet was still able to get himself up and christen his good friend Captain La Barge’s steamboat, which was named De Smet in his honor.

May 14th was a Sunday and De Smet was intent upon giving mass. Upon completing it he said that “this is the end. I shall never again ascend the altar.” The last sacrament was administered to him on May 20th, but he held out for another three days. The most famous American missionary of the 19th century died on May 23, 1873. He was 72 years old.

Notes

Baumler, Ellen. Montana Moments: History on the Go. Montana Historical Society Press: Helena, 2010. p 125.

Carriker, Robert C. Father Peter John De Smet: Jesuit in the West. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1995. p 31-64, 236-8.

“History of St. Mary’s.” Historic St. Mary’s Mission & Museum. Web. Retrieved 7 June 2013 from Stmarysmission.org: http://www.saintmarysmission.org/history.html

Malone, Michael Peter; Roeder, Richard B.; Lang, William L. Montana: A History of Two Centuries. The University of Washington Press, 1976. p 62-3.

McLynne, Frank. Wagons West: The Epic Story of America’s Overland Trails. Random House: London, 2002. p 58-78.

"Pierre Jean De Smet." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Retrieved June 07, 2013 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404701747.html

Toole, K. Ross. Montana: An Uncommon Land. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1959. p 57-61.

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St. Mary’s and De Smet’s Missionary Dreams

6/14/2013

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The Rocky Mountains in Winter

Spring in Montana means thawing temperatures and a return to business. There was still a lot of work to be done come the spring of 1842 and Father Pierre-Jean De Smet knew it. He set out on a whirlwind tour through the Rockies that spring, but his work was far from done.

By the time he got back to St. Mary’s in the summer it was evident to him that a lot more backing was needed. Funds would certainly help, but so would faith. And a faith not just from Catholics, but from all who wanted to see America succeed in the West.

A Thaw Sets In

Fort Colville by Paul Kane

The next spring brought not only new crops but also more Indians interested in the “Black Robes.” A larger chapel was needed, and so one was built, coming in at 30x60 feet. The three laymen that had accompanied the three priests were certainly pulling their weight.

Without them the small settlement would never have been built, and it’s a testament to their skill, faith, and dedication that things got done so quickly.

De Smet again set out for the Hudson’s Bay Company territory to the west, and left St. Mary’s by barge, reaching Fort Colville once again. There he had to wait for the river to thaw before continuing further, which he was finally able to do on May 30th.

Dr. John McLoughlin was waiting for him at Fort Vancouver, and the two reached a deal on supplying St. Mary’s. De Smet also met with two priests from the French-Canadian mission of St. Paul’s, Fathers Francis Norbert Blanchet and Modeste Demers, and discussed his vision for creating mission all across the northwest.

His business complete, De Smet left Fort Vancouver on June 30th by boat and proceeded to head to Fort Walla Walla which his group reached by mid-July. From there he sought a more direct overland route to St. Mary’s and headed from the Snake River across the desert near modern-day Spokane to Lake Coeur d’Alene. From there it was a direct path across the mountains back to the mission, which they reached on July 27th.

Concerning the Blackfeet

Near Three Forks

After five days of rest De Smet again set out, this time to find Father Nicolas Point, who had travelled with the Flathead to their buffalo grounds near Three Forks.

De Smet instructed Point to create a mission for the Coeur d’Alene Indians, something he had promised them, even though Point wanted to take the more risky route of converting the Blackfeet.

The two departed and De Smet continued on, meeting a large group of about 3,000 Crow Indians who were eager to hear his tales of God and the white man.

Eastward and Across the Sea

Pope Gregory XVI

The route ahead of them led to Fort Union and from there to St. Louis. De Smet’s meeting with the French-Canadian priests around Fort Vancouver convinced him that a trip back east was necessary to gain further support for their efforts, and he took up the task with his usual zeal.

They reached the city on October 31st, 1842, and from there he began writing his letters to inform and inspire, sending them out to a major Philadelphia publisher who bundled them all into a large volume.

The letters caused quite a stir, and De Smet embarked on a whirlwind tour of all the major cities of the eastern United States, raising $5,000 in the process, all of which would be used for much-needed supplies for St. Mary’s. From there he headed back to Europe to gain more support for his dreams of creating Jesuit missions all across the Pacific Northwest.

De Smet’s main impetus for going to Europe was to meet with the pope. It was no surprise to anyone that the Protestants were beginning to make headway into the Oregon country. With the proper backing De Smet knew he could make his dreams of missions across the northwest come true. He received the support of the pope and of kings and returned to America more determined than ever to see his goals fulfilled.

Notes

Baumler, Ellen. Montana Moments: History on the Go. Montana Historical Society Press: Helena, 2010. p 125.

Carriker, Robert C. Father Peter John De Smet: Jesuit in the West. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1995. p 31-64.

“History of St. Mary’s.” Historic St. Mary’s Mission & Museum. Web. Retrieved 7 June 2013 from Stmarysmission.org: http://www.saintmarysmission.org/history.html

Malone, Michael Peter; Roeder, Richard B.; Lang, William L. Montana: A History of Two Centuries. The University of Washington Press, 1976. p 62-3.

McLynne, Frank. Wagons West: The Epic Story of America’s Overland Trails. Random House: London, 2002. p 58-78.

"Pierre Jean De Smet." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Retrieved June 07, 2013 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404701747.html

Toole, K. Ross. Montana: An Uncommon Land. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1959. p 57-61.

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St. Mary’s Mission and the Start of Montana Settlement

6/13/2013

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Montana's Rocky Mountains

Father Pierre-Jean De Smet had arrived at the place he wanted to establish his mission, what would become Stevensville, Montana.

This marked the second time that he had been in the Rocky Mountains, but it certainly wouldn’t be his last. De Smet was an adventurous priest, one more apt to go out and explore than sit behind a desk all day.

And explore he did. Over the next several years he’d leave the Rocky Mountains and his beloved mission and return again. He’d head all the way to the Columbia River and then back east.

He’d sail to Europe nineteen times and come back once around Cape Horn to land directly in Oregon. But on September 24, 1841, all he wanted to do was rest for a few days.

Getting Things Underway

St. Mary's Mission, c 1900

The local Indians took to them right away and were more than happy to accommodate their wishes.

The Flathead, Iroquois, and neighboring Nez Pearce all took an active interest in ensuring that the men were as comfortable as could be, the better for them to begin carrying out their task, which was to begin the work of saving souls.

The Jesuits felt that nothing would accomplish or accommodate that more than a chapel which could hold every Indian of the tribe. Even with winter setting in they accomplished the task, constructing a two-gallery cottonwood log chapel measuring 25x33 feet.

The Hudson Bay Company was operating at Fort Colville, about 300 miles to the northwest. The fort had been constructed on the edge of Kettle Falls in 1825 and served as on of the main bases of operation for the company.

There was still time in the season so Father Pierre De Smet set out for supplies, and he did just that on October 28th. The group stopped for a rest on November 7th at Lake Pend d’Oreille, where they met up with a Flathead Indian bearing letters from Fort Vancouver, inviting De Smet to attend there as soon as he was able.

To Fort Vancouver and the Hudson’s Bay Company

Kettle Falls in 1860

The letters, sent from Dr. John McLoughlin, the chief factor, or agent, of the fort. He also sent the party with two canoes of supplies, which the Flathead Indians returned to St. Mary’s as the rest of the party continued on to the fort, reaching it a week later.

The group secured the seeds they wanted for planting, but were unable to obtain any livestock. De Smet’s discouragement was no doubt dispelled when he received an extra package of foodstuffs containing such rare goods a sugar, coffee, chocolate, and ham.

The group turned about and followed the same course back, reaching St. Mary’s on December 8th, just before winter set in. They had secured the necessary winter supplies of oats, vegetables, wheat, and perhaps most importantly, the seeds for the next year’s crops.

Things had changes substantially in the forty-two days that De Smet had been away. A large palisade completely enclosed the now-noticeable village, made up of more than 3,000 large wooden stakes.

Fields were already fenced off for next year’s planting, and several buildings now stood where none had before. And to cap the year off Chief Big Face died, his dream of having “Black Robes” come to his people finally fulfilled.

Notes

Baumler, Ellen. Montana Moments: History on the Go. Montana Historical Society Press: Helena, 2010. p 125.

Carriker, Robert C. Father Peter John De Smet: Jesuit in the West. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1995. p 31-64.

“History of St. Mary’s.” Historic St. Mary’s Mission & Museum. Web. Retrieved 7 June 2013 from Stmarysmission.org: http://www.saintmarysmission.org/history.html

Malone, Michael Peter; Roeder, Richard B.; Lang, William L. Montana: A History of Two Centuries. The University of Washington Press, 1976. p 62-3.

McLynne, Frank. Wagons West: The Epic Story of America’s Overland Trails. Random House: London, 2002. p 58-78.

"Pierre Jean De Smet." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Retrieved June 07, 2013 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404701747.html

Toole, K. Ross. Montana: An Uncommon Land. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1959. p 57-61.

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Father De Smet’s Wagon Train West

6/12/2013

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This is an excerpt from the book Priests and Prospectors: A History of Montana, Volume II

Pioneers Crossing the Plains of Nebraska, C.C.A. Christensen

The journey west from St. Louis back to St. Mary’s Mission didn’t get underway until the beginning of May, 1841.

The American Fur Company wouldn’t accompany De Smet and his men this time, so worried were they that he and his team of men with five wagons would slow them down too much.

De Smet was able to make a deal with the respected scout and mountain man Thomas Fitzpatrick to guide him, however, and his party left Westport with several other parties heading west to Oregon and California, which were led by John Bidwell and John Bartleson.

The Mountain Men Take Charge

Hudson's Bay Company Route West

Thomas Fitzpatrick was a mountain man and a good one.

He had spent years scouting through the wilderness, and of all the men, he had the best knowledge of how to get to California, mainly having heard it from Jim Bridger.

With him were four other mountain men and fur trappers: Jim Baker, John Gray, William Mast, and George Simpson.

De Smet was able to have an easy rapport with the men, knowing when to proselytize and when to talk of more worldly concerns. It’s easy to imagine De Smet bending coins with his teeth for the men around the campfire at night, something he did often to show off how strong his teeth were.

Thomas Fitzpatrick most probably benefited from a good laugh; he was a legendary mountain man and fur trapper but those days were done. As Frank McLynn points out in his book Wagon’s West, Thomas Fitzpatrick’s “engagement as a guide by De Smet was in itself the surest possible sign that the fur-trading days of the Far West were over.” (p 60)

Hitting the Oregon Trail

Platte River Map

The large train of wagons passed over the Kansas plains without any major incidents, but a few minor.

The ground was rough most of the way and the wagons jarring, but tall grass and trees were everywhere. Many streams were crossed and there was a break for several days as four oxen had to be rounded up.

A group of young ruffians encountered the group and stayed with them for a few days and shortly after that a crazed preacher appeared, intent on quelling the Indian savages with his words of God. One day saw large hailstones and on another one man accidently shot himself in the heart when he drew his pistol at an odd angle, becoming the first death of the journey. There were also two wedding ceremonies along the route, both performed by De Smet.

Creatures big and small met the group wherever they went. Wolves howled incessantly and antelope were everywhere it seemed. And the amount of snakes was staggering. “[Father] Point noted that on a single day the wagoners killed a dozen rattlesnakes with their whips without ever leaving the trail,” McLynn points out. (63).

A more serious occurrence took place when the party reached the Platte River and a lone hunter went out, something that was strictly against Fitzpatrick’s orders.

He spotted some Cheyenne and fired, was lucky enough to miss and even luckier to be spared. The Indians took everything he had and sent him back to camp, but soon rode in themselves, whooping and hollering all the while. Thankfully they were calmed by one in the party and left the next day.

Reaching the Rockies

Fort Laramie, Alfred Jacob Miller

By June 22nd the group had made it to Fort Laramie in Wyoming, which at that point could more accurately be called three forts coming together, those of John, Platte, and William.

After resting for two days the group again set out for the southern route that would take them across the North Platte.

Game began to grow scarce as the group continued on, as did their remaining food supplies. The hunters’ kills each day weren't producing enough for everyone, and many in the group broke out into fistfights.

Things turned around by July 13th when the group managed to kill nine buffalo and reach the top of South Pass five days later. The Green River was reached on July 23rd, and there the group met several fur trappers and mountain men, although by that time the main rendezvous was long over

The party set out from the Green River on July 24th. They kept up their slow pace of about 12 miles a day through the Rocky Mountains until they reached the trail junction just past Soda Springs.

The two parties went their separate ways on August 11th, the Bidwell group heading south on the California trail, the Jesuits and Fitzpatrick’s men north toward Oregon. The group continued to get smaller when they reached Fort Hall on August 15th and De Smet and his men headed up the Snake River while the others continued on westward.

Thankfully there was a lone Flathead Indian waiting for them there, which gave De Smet satisfaction enough to call a rest for three days. The small party journeyed through Hellgate Canyon near present-day Missoula and arrived in the Bitterroot Valley on September 24, 1841, their final destination.

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The Rocky Mountain Mission of Father De Smet

6/10/2013

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This is an excerpt from the book Priests and Prospectors: A History of Montana, Volume II

Map of Hudson's Bay Company forts

The Rocky Mountain Mission got off to a rocky start. Father Verhaegen, the leading Jesuit Priest in St. Louis, had wanted to send priests back with the Flatheads beginning as early as 1839, but he sadly lacked the necessary funds to do so. That all changed in 1840 when he was once again flush with money, and that’s why he agreed to send Father Pierre-Jean De Smet west on his first trip to the Rocky Mountains.

He would have eagerly awaited his return, but his eagerness no doubt turned to trepidation as he saw his tidy sum of money begin to disappear on the necessities of St. Louis. By the time De Smet returned, things weren’t as they had once been.

Show Me the Money

Philadelphia, 1855

The Rocky Mountain Mission was approved in January 1841 and De Smet was chosen as its leader. Unfortunately the money that had been available the year before was now half of what it had previously been. It was agreed that De Smet would travel east to Philadelphia where he’d try to persuade area churches to fund his mission in the wilderness.

His efforts paid off and he even found more funds from generous Catholic churches on his return westward, as well as needed supplies. He accumulated at least $3,340 and possibly more, a tidy sum for the time. It was enough to convince Father Verhaegen to give his final stamp of approval for the mission. Now it was time to formulate exactly what the goals of this Rocky Mountain Mission were.

De Smet’s Missionary Goals

Fort Vancouver, 1845

De Smet decided on four main goals in travelling to the Rocky Mountains. First, establish a permanent mission among the Indian tribes living there. Second, write descriptive letters of faith that would both uplift and inform. Third, make contact with the Hudson’s Bay Company and Father Blanchet who was staying with them in Oregon. Finally, De Smet wanted to find reliable travelling routes between his permanent mission in the Rocky Mountains and the Hudson’s Bay Company’s three main posts at Forts Colville, Walla Walla, and Vancouver.

De Smet wasn’t alone on his foray into the wilderness; he had with him Father Gregory Mengarini, Father Nicolas Point, and three fellow Jesuit missionaries, Charles Huet, Joseph Specht, and William Claessens. No doubt the three men were chosen for their abilities with wood and metalworking, and the two priests for their abilities with languages and medicine. They began what would become the very first permanent white settlement with little more than five carts and wagons of supplies, a few horses and mules, their faith, and their determination.

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Father Pierre-Jean De Smet Heeds the Call

6/9/2013

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This is an excerpt from the book Priests and Prospectors: A History of Montana, Volume II

The final Flathead Indian delegation headed back to their home in the Bitterroot Valley with heavy hearts knowing they’d have to wait another year, possibly two, before they finally got their “Black Robes.” Still, their long wait would soon be over, for in St. Louis, 3,000 miles from their homes, was Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, who would be tasked with accompanying them back to their lands to tend to their needs.

A Belgian By Birth

Jean-Pierre De Smet, c 1860-5

Pierre-Jean De Smet had been born in what is now Belgium in 1801 and moved to America in 1821, taking up Jesuit duties in Maryland. He eventually moved to Missouri where he became a full priest in 1827. His heath took a turn for the worse and he moved back to Belgium in 1833, not returning to Missouri again until 1837. He worked closely with the Potawatomi Indians in the Council Bluffs area and even created the first fully-detailed map of the Upper Missouri River.

Things were not going well with the Potawatomi, mainly due to the white’s influence on them. They had a strong liking for alcohol, something De Smet certainly didn’t approve of, and they also began fighting amongst themselves. Sickness also befell them, and many began to die off. In February 1840 De Smet suddenly announced that things were at a serious juncture and that he’d personally travel to St. Louis to see them fixed.

The Gateway to the West

Dendermonde, Belgium, birthplace of De Smet

Father De Smet and his lone companion reached the city on February 20th, nearly chilled to the bone from the icy conditions they’d been forced to endure. He met with Father Peter Verhaegen and was assured he’d be given the supplies he needed for Council Bluffs. De Smet questioned Verhaegen about the fate of the Flathead delegations, and whatever it was he said won the elderly priest over.

Verhaegen changed his mind and told De Smet he’d not be going back to Council Bluffs but instead into the Rocky Mountains for an initial meeting with the Flathead Indians residing there to ascertain what exactly the situation was and if a lasting mission there would be possible.

It was agreed that De Smet would travel overland with members from the American Fur Company as far as their Green River rendezvous in Wyoming. Fifty men and wagons as well as sixty pack mules set out on April 1st and they set a grueling pace of eighteen miles a day. The forty year-old De Smet developed a fever shortly after the voyage began and was forced to confine himself to the back of a wagon for most of the journey.

The group’s first real encounter with the Plains Indians occurred near the Laramie River when they met a group of Northern Cheyenne. De Smet was invited in for a feast of dog meat, which he rather liked, and was encouraged when the Indians took fondly to his sermons on the Ten Commandments. His decision to travel west reaffirmed, the group set out once again, reaching the Green River by June 30, 1840.

The Green River Rendezvous

Green River in Wyoming

The group stayed on at the Green River for a few days to allow Pierre-Jean De Smet to rest, and he used the time to preach to the Shoshone and Ute tribes gathered there, as well as the fur trappers. By July 6 they were ready to set out once again and began the journey to Pierre’s Hole where the Flathead Indians were waiting for him.

By July 12th they had reached their goal, a large encampment of 1,600 Indians, mainly Flathead, Nez Pearce, and Pend d’Oreille, many of whom had travelled up to 800 miles to greet him. Several hundred baptisms took place by De Smet’s own reckoning, including two chiefs, one of whom was Big Face. From that time on no other priest was referred to as “Black Robe,” just De Smet.

The Indians needed to get to the best buffalo hunting grounds so they broke camp and headed to the Beaverhead River near Dillon, Montana. By August the Indians had gotten their fill of Buffalo and were ready to leave, as was De Smet. He decided to return to St. Louis before winter set in, and with a group of twenty Indian guides he set out on August 27, 1840.

Back to St. Louis

The group travelled back via the Yellowstone River and met up with a friendly band of Crow Indians for a few days. A couple days after leaving them they came across a whole Crow village of a thousand or more who had heard about the “Black Robe” and were interested in his stories of heaven and hell. De Smet regaled them and created another group of allies.

The party eventually reached the American Fur Company’s trading post on the Rosebud River, Fort Alexander, and from there headed to Fort Union, reaching it on September 20th. He met many other tribes on the way, including the Arikaras, Blackfeet Sioux, and Mandans.

The journey continued on to Council Bluffs, which they reached in December, and where he was reunited with the Potawatomi and other Jesuits. Winter began to set in and the Missouri River froze the very next day. Undeterred, De Smet continued journeying overland on horse and then by stage coach on December 14th.

He pulled into St. Louis on New Year’s Eve, having traveled nearly 5,000 miles and spending 249 days doing so. But he had fruits to show for his labors; sixteen different Indian tribes had made contact with him, and each of them left feeling a little more secure about the “Black Robe” influence coming onto their lands.

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The Flathead Indians Seek God

6/7/2013

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This is an excerpt from the book Priests and Prospectors: A History of Montana, Volume II

Bitterroot Valley from El Capitan Peak

The year 1841 was a very dynamic year in history. On January 26th the British occupied Hong Kong, beginning 156 years of rule there. On April 4th President William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia while in office, and just a month after being elected, the first American president to do so. And on September 24th Father Pierre-Jean De Smet arrived in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley to start what would become the state’s first permanent settlement.

The fur trade was over by then, having come to an end the previous year when fashion tastes in Europe changed from fur to silk. That change spelled the end for the far-ranging mountain men that roamed through the mountains and forests of the state, but never created any permanent presence.

Some of the Indians in the state were accepting of the white man’s presence, others not so much. Some of those that wanted a greater white presence were the Salish, or Flathead Indians of western Montana. It was due to their insistence on having religion, and the white protection that went with it, that Montana got its first cattle, crops, and church, and saw its whole history change in the process.

The Quest for a Black Robe

Flathead Family, c 1900

The Iroquois Indians were the first to tell the Flathead Indians of the “Black Robes.” The Flathead were immediately transfixed, for they wanted all of the power and praise of the white man’s god just as much as he did. But there were ulterior motives for the Flatheads to want the “Black Robes” to come. They believed firmly that if they adopted the white man’s beliefs they would be saved from their enemies, particularly the increasingly hostile Blackfeet to the east.

It was the Blackfeet, after all, that had driven the plains tribe up into the mountains in the first place, and as the whiltes continued to push west the Flatheads were fearful that they’d be pushed further by the Blackfeet. Baptisms and hymns would protect them from their enemies bullets they felt, and if that meant converting to a foreign religion, then so be it.

Chief Tjolzhitsay, more commonly known as Big Face, sent out a delegation to St. Louis right away, knowing that there were “Black Robes” there that could help them. If they would only listen they would convince some of them to come back with them and spread the word of God to their people.

The Four Delegations

St. Louis in 1840

Their first delegation in 1831 was unsuccessful, even though they met up with an earlier acquaintance, William Clark, who was at that time still the de facto head of Indian Affairs for the Louisiana Territory. His kind words and reassurances couldn’t convince the Catholics however, and the delegation was sent home empty-handed. They waited four years before trying again in 1835, but again they were rebuffed.

Another delegation was sent in 1837, again through hostile enemy territory, this time without much luck. The whole group was killed by the Sioux Indians of the area, including one of the main people to so interest the Flatheads in Catholicism, Ignace la Mouse, or Big Ignace.

The Flathead waited, biding there time, knowing that God would not forsake them. They tried again in 1839, for the final time, and their prayers were answered. They received the promise from Bishop Rosati that a “Black Robe” would be sent to them. They returned home and eagerly waited, a wait that would last them another two years before deliverance came at last.

Notes

Baumler, Ellen. Montana Moments: History on the Go. Montana Historical Society Press: Helena, 2010. p 125.

Carriker, Robert C. Father Peter John De Smet: Jesuit in the West. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1995. p 31-64.

“History of St. Mary’s.” Historic St. Mary’s Mission & Museum. Web. Retrieved 7 June 2013 from Stmarysmission.org: http://www.saintmarysmission.org/history.html

Malone, Michael Peter; Roeder, Richard B.; Lang, William L. Montana: A History of Two Centuries. The University of Washington Press, 1976. p 62-3.

Toole, K. Ross. Montana: An Uncommon Land. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1959. p 57-61.

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5 Great Montana History Books

6/5/2013

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Lolo National Forest

There are many great Montana history books out there to choose from, perhaps too many.

If you go to Amazon and type in ‘Montana history’ you’ll come up with more than 100 pages of books.

Each of those pages has 12 books listed on it, so that means there are at least 1,200 Montana history books selling on that one site alone.

Of course, some of the books are going to be better than others. And only a few can really be considered the best.

Here are 5 great Montana history books that I’ve read over the years and which still have resonance today.

Montana: High, Wide, and Handsome

By far one of the best books is this classic by Joseph Kinsey Howard. I read it only after it was recommended to me by one of my professors at the University of Montana. It wasn’t required reading but I felt it did a much better job telling the state’s history than the books we’d been assigned.

Many people feel the book is dated and that it may have some factual errors. It still does a great job of telling a narrative history of Montana that’s interesting and enjoyable. The subject matter certainly isn’t dry and you’ll probably find yourself coming back to it from time to time.

Montana: A History of Two Centuries

This is another great book on Montana history, and one that is much more recent. It’s got three authors, two of which served as history professors at Montana State University in Bozeman. One of them, Michael P. Malone, would eventually go on to serve as the school’s president.

The book is primarily written as a textbook for university students taking a Montana State history course, so it can be rather dry at times. Still, it does a good job of detailing what happened in the state over the two centuries it covers, which end around the 1970s, as do most Montana history books. You’ll get thousands of years covered in the introduction before settling into the State’s story with Lewis & Clark.

The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology

This book is certainly not for the faint of heart, coming in at more than 1,000 pages. It was put together primarily by William Kittredge and Annick Smith, the two main editors out of a much larger group. The book profiles stories from the state’s earliest beginnings to its more modern times.

You’ll get Indian accounts right next to early settlers. Stories from Lewis & Clark are right up there with more contemporary authors who know the state today. Kittredge spent a great deal of his time teaching creative writing at the University of Montana, and anyone who’s taken one of his classes knows that he cares deeply for the state.

Montana: An Uncommon Land

Many who went to the University of Montana in the 80s and 90s took their Montana history class from K. Ross Toole. His book on the state’s history was still required reading when I went there, and I have to say that I enjoyed it. I read many of the chapters several times, as anyone taking liberal arts classes in college can attest to, and I still remember that they were quite good.

Like the other books in the list this cover all the big areas of the state’s history, focusing primarily on the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Native American interactions, cattle and mining interests, and right up to when the state was beginning to become what it is today in the mid-1980s. It’s just another great perspective on the Big Sky state.

Young Men and Fire

On August 5th, 1949, the Mann Gulch forest fire around the Gates of the Mountains just outside of Helena claimed the lives of 13 of the 16 smokejumpers who leaped in to fight it. Norman Maclean, the author of A River Runs Through It, began studying the fire seriously in 1976 and released this great book in 1992.

It’s an enjoyable book for anyone interested in one of the defining forest fires in Montana history and one that we’re still learning from today. My Helena High School senior class did a two year project working on getting a memorial set up for the men who died in the Mann Gulch Fire at the Missoula Smokejumper’s Center and it left an impression on me.

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Tales of the Mountain Men: Seventeen Stories of Survival, Exploration, and Frontier Spirit

John Colter: His Years in the Rockies

Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West

Cowboys, Mountain Men, and Grizzly Bears: Fifty of the Grittiest Moments in the History of the Wild West

Rocky Mountain Rendezvous: A History of The Fur Trade 1825 - 1840

The Saga of Hugh Glass: Pirate, Pawnee, and Mountain Man

Fur Traders, Trappers, and Mountain Men of the Upper Missouri

Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West: Eighteen Biographical Sketches

Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America

A Majority of Scoundrels: An Informal History of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company

A Final Foray West

Saying the Last Goodbye

A Final Journey

A Thaw Sets In

Concerning the Blackfeet

Eastward and Across the Sea

Getting Things Underway

To Fort Vancouver and the Hudson’s Bay Company

The Mountain Men Take Charge

Hitting the Oregon Trail

Reaching the Rockies

Show Me the Money

De Smet’s Missionary Goals

A Belgian By Birth

The Gateway to the West

The Green River Rendezvous

Back to St. Louis

The Quest for a Black Robe

The Four Delegations

Montana: High, Wide, and Handsome

Montana: A History of Two Centuries

The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology

Montana: An Uncommon Land

Young Men and Fire

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