Customer Reviews

Jefferson and the Gun-Men: How the West Was Almost Lost

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Montgomery's book is a wonderful, delightful history of not only Lewis and Clark, but also the lesser known tale of Zebulon Pike's (ahem) explorations and the maneuverings of General James Wilkinson and Aaron Burr. The book is broken up by date, with each day of the history getting anything from a line to several pages. The whole book is full of humor, and Montgomery's zest for telling the story comes through consistently. This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants an introduction to Lewis and Clark (though at least passing familiarity is suggested) or wants a fresh look at their expedition. This book goes into the kind of details that many other histories ignore. For example, the sex lives of the Corps of Discovery and Aaron Burr's seductions are gone into with some detail. Where Montgomery really hits his stride is in the details of Aaron Burr's plot to make himself Emperor of the American west and James Wilkinson's part in it, as well as the General's bizarre and devious work as a Spanish spy. These divided loyalties are displayed against Lewis and Clark's loyalty to Jefferson and Jefferson's apathy for much of Burr's plot. Filled with lively anectdotes and new insight, and written more like a novel than a history, this is an excellent book on a part of our past that is unknown to far too many people.

Quite frankly I wish I had read the many other reviews before I invested in this book. The author makes much of correcting Clark's spelling errors, but his own errors reveal he did not go much beyond the spelling. Especially egregious is the one where he tells us that we cannot know from the jouurnals how many canoes were made by Lewis and Clark at the top of Great Falls. The number is given explicitly in the journal entries for three days: July 9, 10, and 14. Because of this I will try to find other books about Burr, wilkinson and Pike.

I claim no special knowldge of Jefferson or General Wilkinson but I do when it comes to Zebulon Montgomery Pike. This book bristles with factual errors concerning this great American. The author apparently never visited Colorado or he would not claim that Pike never even saw the massif that was named for him. Pikes Peak can be seen for a hundred miles or more from the eastern prarie which was Pike's route along the Arkansas River. Pike wrote from South Park that he had continually seen what he called Grand Peak every day (except when he was in the valleys) for the past two months. The author claims that Pike only ascended some foothill when he attempted to climb what would become Pikes Peak, when the truth is he climbned Mt. Rosa, 11,499' which was the first recorded ascent of any mountain in the American West. Moreover, he was the first American, in the United States, to reach the Alpine Zone (11,400' in Colorado). Some foothill.
Pike was made a captain in November of 1806 while the author claims it happened in 1808.
Pike died a hero's death for his country in the Battle of York. The author all but calls him a traitor. He apparently thinks that this young man came to Colorado to start a war with Spain. He asks us to believe that he and his men knew the location of Sante Fe and ignores the fact that Pike did not turn south at Canon City Colorado which would take them there in a few weeks. Instead Pike led his men into the Rocky Mountain Winter to the north-west, away from Sante Fe.
The author insults such noted historians Steven Harding Hart and Archer B. Hulbert, Harvey Carter,Eugene Hollon, and Donald D. Jackson by claiming Pike has 'slipped beneath the notice of professional histonians.' He implies nothing but juvenile historians should deal with him further.
Zebulon Pike is the Viet-Nam Vet of our early explorers. He starved, and froze, and became exhaused for our country as a matter of course. He led his men in the field of battle and won the first victory in the War of 1812. He made a marine type landing in the face of well armed and alerted Brittish Regulars, malitia and pro-Brit Indians. The author says he had an easy victory over a few 'Canadians' who difended Fort York. Authors like Montgomery have given Pike scant credit for his many acompolishments. He even claims Pike was never within 100 miles of the Sante Fe Trail. Pike followed the Arkansas River from Great Bend Kansas to Canon City. The Sante Fe Trail follows the Arkansas River from Great Bend, Kansas all the way to Bent's Fort, near Las Animas, Colorado where it turns south to Raton Pass. Why not give him his due?
Pike's greatest accompolishment was not even mentioned in the book. Pike opened the eyes of America to what was going on in New Spain. Pike told America how the people were slaves to either Cross or Crown. He said their lives were regulated by the peal of the church bell or the rattle of the drum. He told how anxious the people of Mexico (northern New Spain) yearned for freedom and trade with America. Pike predicted the revolution of 1810 and said not one officer in a hundred was loyal to Madrid. Pike was the revealer who lived and died for his country and none of this is even mentioned. So many errors of fact and such a broad conclusion. As far as Pike is concerned much of this book should be in a novel, as it is not non-fiction.

The prinicple narrative thread in Montgomery's "Jefferson and the Gun-Men" is an irreverant account of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Do not expect "Heroic Explorers Contend Against the Wilderness"; rather, it is more like "Laurel and Hardy Go West". Although I would hesitate to take everything Montgomery states at face value -- I cannot but help think he was looking for drama, treachery, and sheer idiocy instead of straight history -- I do find his account useful in one primary regard: he interweaves in a chronologically straightforward manner the activities of not only Lewis and Clark but also of Zebulon Pike (if Lewis and Clark were Laurel and Hardy, then Pike in his view was something of a singlehanded Keystone Kop), Tom Jeffeson, Aaron Burr, and James Wilkinson (commanding general of the US Army and secretly a paid agent of Spain and a conspirator with Aaron Burr to invade Mexico or to set up the western US territories as a separate country or something -- in the end, Wilkinson betrayed Burr and became the chief witness against him in Burr's treason trial). Lewis and Clark's explorations, Pike's wanderings up the Mississippi and in the Southwest, Burr's schemes ... they are all intertwined. So, at a minimum Montgomery's book establishes a common timescale for events usually treated in isolation. But I would urge the reader to go beyond Montgomery's book to read other viewpoints about these men and their activities.

The first thing that grabs you about Montgomery's tome is his style -- his passages are witty, bordering on glib, and he is not burdened by a reverence for his subject matter that makes so many other histories rather dull. He has an obvious affection for some of his characters (such as Clark and Sacagawea), to be sure, but he also sees them as real people rather than demigods. Montgomery's savaging of other characters is a particular delight. This style is a plus, and makes for fun reading.

But the book is fraught with errors, as other reviewers have observed. I'll content myself with only one, which should have also been caught by Montgomery's editor -- on more than one occasion, Montgomery refers to the duel between Burr and Madison, incorrectly substituting Madison for Hamilton. While this mistake is so obvious that nobody is mis-led by it, it says little for the care that went into the writing and editing of the book and undermines its credibility.

Is the book entertaining? Sure. But it's got the same historical value as "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," and that's sad, because it could have been so much more.

M.R. Montgomery has accomplished a historical coup with this book: He has integrated the story of the Lewis & Clark westward expedition from 1803 through 1806 into a much more interesting story - a conspiracy to sieze the very land they are exploring and meld it into a separate empire!

The Author analyzes and interprets both the daily logs and their summaries, corrections, and edits of the main characters and tells the story as it's never been told before. And by writing in the present tense, the author yanks the reader right into the story.

The title indicates that this is a book about Jefferson. But Jefferson is not the protagonist - the author keeps him in the background as the story unfolds. Jefferson only sees portions and segments of the sequence of events as they transpire as do all the other characters.

To me, this book is like a time machine taking me back to 1803 and putting me above the story watching the characters come on stage, each acting out his (or her) unique role in the story.

He puts me on the trail with Lewis and Clark describing their successes, trials and tribulations as they move ever westward. I winter with the men in the Mandan Indian reservation, move out with them in the Spring when the ice breaks on the Missouri and rejoice with them when they find Sacagawea's long lost people - the Shoshones. I agonize with Clark as he attempts to trade for horses after his men have inflated their price by purchasing the favors of the Indian Women.

And then the author yanks me back to civilization and puts me inside the heads of Aaron Burr and James Wilkonsin - two of history's most interesting characters who come on stage and conspire to conquer a huge chunk of the territory that Lewis & Clark are exploring. James Wilkinson is a spy for the Spanish Government while Commander of the U.S. Army, and Aaron Burr, the man who shot Hamilton, after nearly stealing the election of 1800, has visions of becoming emperor of a West and a South including Mexico.

And then, while Lewis & Clark are moving westward, I am set down with a man I've only known before as the person whom Pike's Peak was named for. But now I'm with him as he carries out the orders of the man he idolizes - General Wilkonsin's orders for finding the headwaters of the Mississippi River and later taking his rag-tag small force on a wild goose chase through what is now Kansas, Texas and New Mexico.

This book reads like a novel and I'm sure some of the historians will take issue with Montgomery's interpretations and conclusions. But he has the knack of taking the reader into why and how he interprets the journals and diaries as he does, sometimes even leaving it up to the reader to make the decision about why or how an event happened the way it did.

The author shows us the tender side of Clark who develops a love for the young son of "the Indian Woman" (Sacagawea) that lasts a lifetime, and a Lewis, who, even while on the expedition, exhibits personality traits that will lead to his self-destruction later.

And I haven't even mentioned the supporting cast: York, Charbonneau, Drouilliard, Sheheke, and many others, each of whom plays a key role in this historical drama.

I give this book the ultimate compliment by admitting I read many portions of it after going to bed. It didn't put me to sleep as many other books have done; in fact, I lost many hours of sleep as I watched this conspiracy unfold and then crumble like a cracker under a heavy foot.

Mr. Montgomery was educated as a historian but worked as a journalist for 30 years. I wish more journalists would write history books.

Montgomery certainly goes a long way towards making history accessible to the public. The adventures of Pike, Burr, Wilkinson, Lewis & Clark, et. al. are quite fascinating. However, Mr. Montgomery definitely needs to get himself a better editor. In terms of narrative, the book is uneven at best. Great detail is spent on certain aspects of Lewis & Clark's trip, such as the crossing of the Bitterroots, but very little on other events. For example, on the page after the Bitterroots are crossed, Lewis & Clark find themselves at the Pacific Ocean. How they arrived there in no time whatsoever is left to the reader to ponder. Similarly, after Pike is captured in Santa Fe, we hear very little about his long trek back to the US. Unfortunately, the book is also replete with historical and geographical errors. Montgomery refers to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase as "Salmon P. Chase" throughout the entire book. The former Chase was tried by Congress during Jefferson's administration, while the latter Chase, born well after the major action in the book takes place, was a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Montgomery also mislocates Nacogdoches, TX on the banks of the Sabine River; Cape Girardeau, MO at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers; the Texas panhandle as marking the border between Colorado & New Mexico; and the Natchez Trace, which he claims begins in Knoxville, TN (actually at Nashville). He also is inconsistent in listing where Aaron Burr faced his initial trial (TN or KY). The few geographical illustrations that Montgomery includes in the book are minutely useful at best. I found myself having to have a map handy in order to follow most of the book. Actually, the most useful function that these illustrations served was to emphasize Montgomery's errors in the text. Overall, it's an interesting book about an intriguing period of American history. I certainly learned a great deal about Clark. However, a lay person like myself should not be able to point out such egregious mistakes by an author. Is a well-rounded factually correct book too much to ask for nowadays?

The basic story is intriguing and very gripping, but is it the truth? The book could have been wonderful, but is seriously flawed. Snippets of tales appear haphazardly, making the reading of it less flowing - and on two instances the facts were contrary to basic knowledge of any 6th grade student in history:

1.) Andrew Jackson was not destined to be President in 1820. (He took office in 1829, I recall without looking it up.)

2.) Thomas Jefferson was not the 2nd President. (What ever happened to John Adams?)

When these obvious errors appeared, I thought perhaps the rest of the book was junk too, so why bother reading this.

I claim no special knowldge of Jefferson or General Wilkinson but I do when it comes to Zebulon Montgomery Pike. This book bristles with factual errors concerning this great American. The author apparently never visited Colorado or he would not claim that Pike never even saw the massif that was named for him. Pikes Peak can be seen for a hundred miles or more from the eastern prarie which was Pike's route along the Arkansas River. Pike wrote from South Park that he had continually seen what he called Grand Peak every day (except when he was in the valleys) for the past two months. The author claims that Pike only ascended some foothill when he attempted to climb what would become Pikes Peak, when the truth is he climbned Mt. Rosa, 11,499' which was the first recorded ascent of any mountain in the American West. Moreover, he was the first American, in the United States, to reach the Alpine Zone (11,400' in Colorado). Some foothill.
Pike was made a captain in November of 1806 while the author claims it happened in 1808.
Pike died a hero's death for his country in the Battle of York. The author all but calls him a traitor. He apparently thinks that this young man came to Colorado to start a war with Spain. He asks us to believe that he and his men knew the location of Sante Fe and ignores the fact that Pike did not turn south at Canon City Colorado which would take them there in a few weeks. Instead Pike led his men into the Rocky Mountain Winter to the north-west, away from Sante Fe.
The author insults such noted historians Steven Harding Hart and Archer B. Hulbert, Harvey Carter,Eugene Hollon, and Donald D. Jackson by claiming Pike has 'slipped beneath the notice of professional histonians.' He implies nothing but juvenile historians should deal with him further.
Zebulon Pike is the Viet-Nam Vet of our early explorers. He starved, and froze, and became exhaused for our country as a matter of course. He led his men in the field of battle and won the first victory in the War of 1812. He made a marine type landing in the face of well armed and alerted Brittish Regulars, malitia and pro-Brit Indians. The author says he had an easy victory over a few 'Canadians' who difended Fort York. Authors like Montgomery have given Pike scant credit for his many acompolishments. He even claims Pike was never within 100 miles of the Sante Fe Trail. Pike followed the Arkansas River from Great Bend Kansas to Canon City. The Sante Fe Trail follows the Arkansas River from Great Bend, Kansas all the way to Bent's Fort, near Las Animas, Colorado where it turns south to Raton Pass. Why not give him his due?
Pike's greatest accompolishment was not even mentioned in the book. Pike opened the eyes of America to what was going on in New Spain. Pike told America how the people were slaves to either Cross or Crown. He said their lives were regulated by the peal of the church bell or the rattle of the drum. He told how anxious the people of Mexico (northern New Spain) yearned for freedom and trade with America. Pike predicted the revolution of 1810 and said not one officer in a hundred was loyal to Madrid. Pike was the revealer who lived and died for his country and none of this is even mentioned. So many errors of fact and such a broad conclusion. As far as Pike is concerned much of this book should be in a novel, as it is not non-fiction.

For readers who have a passing knowledge of Lewis and Clark, Aaron Burr and even Zebulon Pike, this book provides interesting insight into American political life prior to the War of 1812. The ironic, speculative style will also be appealing to many. In this regard, the conclusion, a succinct muse on the significance of these actors in American history, is provocative.

Here's the problem: even a nonspecialist reader like myself recognizes errors. I read the 2000 paperback edition and noted these mistakes: a reference to Burr's duel with "Madison" (pg. 216); a reference to Andrew Jackson's election in "1820", not 1828 (pg. 250); and mention of one of Burr's court hearings in Tennessee when they actually occurred in other states (pg. 280). This type of carelessness is disconcerting.