Mountain Men, George Frederick Ruxton's Firsthand Accounts of Fur Trappers and Indians in the Rockies

No more rugged breed of men ever lived than the rocky Mountain fur trappers. In pursuit of beaver pelts they pushed into dangerous, unknown country, fought the Indians and each other, endured incredible hardships of cold and starvation. In small groups or alone, astride shaggy mountain ponies and trailed by pack mules, these fierecely independent loners would disappear for months at a time. If they were lucky, they would emerge from the wilderness with a few dollars' worth of furs - and priceless knowledge.