Forging a Fur Empire: Expeditions in the Snake River Country, 1809-1824: Western Frontiersmen

Ross recorded in exquisite detail the endless vexations of managing a brigade drawn from the widest possible mixtures of ethnic backgrounds and nationalities his men included metis (or mixed-bloods), Americans, Canadians, and Native freemen (independent contractors) from over a dozen Indian nations. Ross s accounts reveal the consequences of running low on supplies and having to butcher the animals, and how hunting game for sport threatened the stock of ammunition and the condition of the horses. Entire expeditions were at the mercy of the most careless trapper and the weakest horse. Hiring guides was chancy, for local tribesmen did not always know the locations of beaver streams, or even the terrain ahead. Religion could be problematic, as well; both French Canadians "and" Iroquois refused to work on Catholic holy days.

More than merely chronicling Ross s accounts, Reid uses early trapping expeditions as a lens for examining legal, institutional, and commercial behavior among the diverse population the fur trade drew together. In addition, he assesses broader issues such as cultural conflict between Ross and his men, and the Hudson s Bay Company s drive to discourage American settlement in the Northwest by exterminating the beaver there. Those interested in the history of the early Northwest will find this well-crafted saga both engaging and enlightening."