The Fur Hunters of the Far West

Alexander Ross offers a completely authentic account of the earliest attempts by men of European background to come to grips with the climate, geography, and inhabitants of the Northwest at a time when resourcefulness and daring were prime virtues. It offers, moreover, an on-the-scenes interpretation of the conflict between American and British interests, their rivalry for the vast wealth in Northwest furs, the conflict between free trade and corporate enterprise in the wilderness, and the conflict with the North West Company itself. Ross himself - a Scotsman by birth, at one time a trader for John Jacob Astor and the Americans - emerges as one of the heroic figures of both American and British frontier history. He recounts with frankness, excellent perspective, and a fine sense of humor the human adventures of which he was a part.